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American Idol To Go On Without Simon Cowell Fox is near a deal to order more seasons of "American Idol" -- with or without its most popular judge, Simon Cowell. The network's current contract with "Idol" producer 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia extends through the end of the 2011 season. But the network is working on a new deal that includes three seasons of "Idol," though that number could still change. The announcement is expected to demonstrate Fox's commitment to its top-rated series, even as "Idol" faces its biggest challenge yet. The "Idol" franchise has been rocked by rumors that Cowell will depart the show after the upcoming season as he prepares to bring his hit UK music competition series "X-Factor" to the states. Cowell's brother Tony announced Tuesday on his weekly podcast that Simon will leave "Idol" at the end of 2010. The move could have a double impact on "Idol" -- the loss o

Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson And Val Kilmer To Star In "Gun" Charles Malik Whitfield, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and Val Kilmer are set to star in "Gun." Set in the world of illegal drug dealing, the drama, which Jessy Terrero is directing, is based on an original story by Jackson. "Gun," which is about to begin filming in Grand Rapids, Mich., is being produced by Emmett/Furla Films, Cheetah Vision Films and Action Jackson Films. Please Leave A Comment- Source- THR

MTV's Jersey Shore Catching More Heat MTV is getting more pressure to cancel its "Jersey Shore" reality show. The latest criticism comes from the New Jersey Italian American Legislative Caucus, which says the show promotes derogatory ethnic stereotypes and is "wildly offensive." In a letter sent Tuesday to the president of Viacom, MTV's parent company, caucus chairman Joseph Vitale asks that the show be immediately taken off the air. The state lawmakers also have asked advertisers to boycott the show, which focuses on eight tanned 20-somethings and their escapades in Seaside Heights, a popular New Jersey beach town. On Wednesday, a Viacom spokesman referred a request for comment to an MTV spokesperson, who did not immediately respond. MTV has said its intention is not to stereotype or offend. Please Leave A Comment- Source- THR

Keira Knightley To Star In "The Talking Cure" Talk about your indie cast dream teams: Keira Knightley, Christoph Waltz and Michael Fassbender have all signed on to star in David Cronenberg's adaptation of The Talking Cure. It would appear that Cronenberg has shuffled his cinematic version of Christopher Hampton's play to the top of his active pile after thriller The Matarese Circle died in development when Tom Cruise opted to do something else instead. Now, though, Australian distributor Hopscotch has nabbed the rights to Cure and Cronenberg has lined up his impressive cast for a story that chronicles the fathers of psychoanalysis - that would be Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung - and their complex relationships with a beautiful patient. Bet Keira's playing Freud. It's been a long road for Cronenberg on this one - he's been attached since at least 2007, but now it looks like he'll finally be flying to Europe early next year to kick off shooting... James Whi

Inglourious Basterds Prequel In The Works This weekend, we met with Quentin Tarantino, who was still in town after a MoMA Q&A with Elvis Mitchell this past Thursday. As if the weekend's snowstorm wasn’t inconvenience enough, his Hugo Boss coat — which contained his I.D., credit cards, and about $2,000 in cash — was stolen from the West Village bar Galway Hooker on Saturday. Taking pity on him, we paid for some French-vanilla lattes and mimosas the next day, and took the opportunity to ask him about his next film project and how Germans and Israelis perceived Inglourious Basterds. So, are we in for an Inglourious Basterds prequel? Apparently not yet — even though Tarantino says he has 40 pages of it written. He’s not giving up on the idea or the script, especially if the original film does well at the awards shows. But he’s got another project, which he’s keeping under wraps, coming first. It’s going to be “smaller, less epic” in scale than Basterds, and in a “different genre en

Sex and the City 2 Trailer Slip on your Manolos and grab a Cosmo, girls, because the first "Sex and the City 2" trailer is here! The nearly minute-and-a-half trailer reveals few plot points, but the sequel looks like another fun- and fashion-filled romp, centering around a girlfriend getaway to the desert. The trailer (see it after the jump!) opens with quick shots of New York City accompanied by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' seriously apropos hit "Empire State of Mind." "It's been two years and in two years, amazing things can happen," purrs Sarah Jessica Parker. Cut to Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) sauntering down a Big Apple sidewalk, Charlotte (Kristin Davis) baking cupcakes with her 2-year-old daughter Rose and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) doing something at what appears to be a wedding (the rumored Stanford Blatch-Anthony Marantino nuptials, perhaps?). The gal pals then hop on a plane and jet to the desert to "get carried far away," which explains th

Repo Men Red Band Trailer Set in the near future when artificial organs can be bought on credit, it revolves around a man who struggles to make the payments on a heart he has purchased. He must therefore go on the run before said ticker is repossessed. Please Leave A Comment- Source- Myspace

Mayweather-Pacquiao In Jeopardy Nearly every detail is finalized for Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao to fight on March 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas but one. That one detail, though, may kill the fight. Negotiations are at an impasse over Pacquiao’s failure to agree to random Olympic-style drug testing, said Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, on Tuesday. Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said his fighter is willing to comply with strict drug-testing standards, but Roach won’t allow Pacquiao to have blood drawn 48 hours before the fight. Ellerbe said he would not let Mayweather enter the ring unless Pacquiao agreed to it. Both sides agreed that the drug testing issue is the only hurdle preventing the fight from being finished. Earlier Tuesday, Golden Boy Promotions officially requested March 13 from the Nevada State Athletic Commission to host the show. “As Floyd’s management, we are insistent that there be a level playing field,” Ellerbe said. “This

Joel Silver Talks Upcoming Films. Swamp Thing,Sgt. Rock,Wonder Women and Lobo "Sherlock Holmes" producer Joel Silver has his hands full with films based on literary heroes these days, and as many comic book fans are aware, quite a few of those projects hail from the DC Comics universe. Since his name is attached to many of the projects we're most excited about these days, Silver offered MTV News a quick update on some of those projects during the "Sherlock Holmes" red carpet event last week. We pressed the comics-friendly producer for his thoughts on everything from "Swamp Thing" to "Lobo" and many of the other films drawing on DC's massive stable of characters. When asked about his previous comments regarding a 3-D "Swamp Thing" movie, Silver reiterated his belief that 3-D was the intended format for a film about DC's famous swamp creature. Of course, given the character's history as the subject of multiple live-action

Rapper T.I. Release Early From Jail. Nice To Be Rich Rapper T.I. got an early Christmas present today. The rapper was released from prison to an Atlanta, Ga. halfway house, according to an interview with his attorney, Steve Sadow. T.I. (real name: Clifford J. Harris Jr.) had served nearly seven months of a one year and one day sentence at a federal prison in Arkansas stemming from a weapon charge. He was originally scheduled to be released on March 10, 2010. Sadow told the website xxlmag.com that "He's on his way back to the Atlanta area. He has to report to a halfway house in Atlanta sometime this evening. And he will then spend somewhere between the next two or three months in a halfway house, ending his Bureau of Prison sentence." T.I., 28, was arrested after trying to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers from undercover federal agents in 2007. That came after the rapper's best friend was killed following a party in Cincinnati in 2006. The rapper has said t