It seems rather silly to add my two cents of praise to a book that's been 1) acclaimed by Stephenie Meyer and Stephen King, not to mention a whole lot of other book reviewers; 2) snatched up by Lionsgate to be made into a movie, written by its very author; and 3) sitting in the New York Times best-seller list for 48 weeks. I'll just say that if you haven't yet read Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games," then I'm kind of jealous of you. You get to discover the dark, post-apocalyptic world of Katniss Everdeen and then jump right into "Catching Fire," the second book in the trilogy, as soon as it comes out on September 1.
Just a quick primer: Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living in Panem, a country (which used to be North America) made up of 12 districts under the dictatorial rule of the very Big Brother-like Capitol. Since the death of their fathers in a mining accident, she and best friend Gale have been supporting their mothers and younger siblings by sneaking out of the electric fence that surrounds the district and hunting, trapping and gathering food to eat and trade on the black market. Since the districts' failed rebellion decades before, the Capitol has held the annual Hunger Games, a sadistic reality-TV show in which a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district is selected via lottery and sent into an arena to fight to the death (against "natural" obstacles created by the game makers and against each other). The last kid standing earns a lifetime of wealth and fame. When her little sister, Prim, is selected from the lottery, Katniss doesn't think twice before offering to go in her place. Read more...
Tags Book Report, Catching Fire, Hunger Games, Stephenie Meyer, Suzanne Collins
There were a whole lot of celebrity birthdays out there in the Twitterverse today. "Six Degrees" and "Parenthood" actress Erika Christensen had some creative birthday wishes sent her way, announcing, “Ohhh boy I gotta say I'm lovin' the birthday limericks, guys. hahaha! Thank you!!” Everyone’s favorite uncle (Jessie, that is) John Stamos is celebrating his big day with his "Bye, Bye, Birdie" castmates, and his Mom, Tweeting, “THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY WISHES. mom flew in- taking BBB cast and friends out for birthday din-couldn't be happier-p.s. mother snores” Elsewhere, Matthew Perry opted to have a positive outlook on his birthday as well, declaring, “40 is the new 39.”
In other celeb milestones, power Twitterer Kim Kardashian is going toe-to-toe with Shaq! The reality TV star just may surpass the basketball superstar and she went straight to the source for her campaign, writing, “I am at 1.992,759 twitter friends, we are so close to beating Shaq! Come on Tweeps I need u!!!”
You can always follow all your favorite celebrities and us @hollywoodcrush! Check out what else went on in the world of Twitter today after the jump! Read more...
Tags Twitter
Maybe I take my pop culture a bit too seriously, but last night I was watching a documentary on Roseanne Barr and as it listed all the vain, nonsensical, mean-spirited ways that she blew her early-90s power and money, and I couldn’t help but wonder: How much did I contribute to that behavior by watching her sitcom every week back in the day? Well, maybe we can all feel a little bit better about blowing our cash on something like “Twilight,” as evidenced by a story we ran recently on the cast's devotion to charity work.
And the hits just keep on coming! As we were putting that story to bed, I got a shout from “New Moon” star Chaske Spencer, who was hoping to bring some attention to his own recent efforts. Naturally, we’re happy to report that more good is going on out there courtesy Sam Uley — and it doesn’t even involve taking his shirt off. Read more...
Tags Ashley Greene, Chaske Spencer, New Moon, Twilight
If the old adage "one is a fluke, two is a coincidence, three is a trend" is to be believed, than '80s dance movie remakes are positively de rigueur. Upcoming redos of "Footloose" and "Fame" will have some company on the dance floor when a new version of "Dirty Dancing" cha-chas into theaters, reports Production Weekly.
The original, which starred Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, premiered in 1987 raking in $214 million internationally at the box office. The new script will be penned by ''Uptown Girls" writer Julia Dahl and, as of yet, no roles have been cast. We here at Hollywood Crush love to throw in our two cents when it comes to casting, so here's who we think should slink into leotards and leg warmers for the lead roles of Johnny Castle and Frances "Baby" Houseman. Read more...
Tags Alexa Vega, Ashley Tisdale, Channing Tatum, Dirty Dancing, Drew Seeley, Hunter Parrish, Jennifer Grey, Leighton Meester, Patrick Swayze
You’ve got to love when a director shares his exciting casting news with the world, not as an exclusive news tidbit to an entertainment news outlet, but via a post on Twitter. Such was the case with “Saw” director Darren Lynn Bousman, who Tweeted at around midnight EST, “Ton's of casting news... Briana Evigan, Alexa Vega, Shawn Ashmore, Jamie King Mothers Day is going to be INSANE!!!!”
Granted, Darren should learn to spell the names of his actors correctly (it is Jaime, not Jamie, but we’re sure he’ll get it right for the credits), but his announcement added the four actors to his slew of previously announced actors Matt O’Leary and "True Blood" star Deborah Ann Woll for his remake of the 1980 classic “Mother’s Day.” The new film, written by Scott Milam, is a psychological thriller about three deranged men who return to their childhood home to discover their mother has been evicted due to foreclosure, and, in turn,terrorize the new inhabitants with the help of their mother. That’s how we show our mom’s how much we love them, too! Read more...
Tags Alexa Vega, Briana Evigan, Darren Lynn Bousman, Deborah Ann Woll, Jaime King, Matt O'Leary, Matt O’Leary, Mother's Day, Shawn Ashmore
Newlywed Jenna Dewan not only has her nuptials to "G.I. Joe" hottie Channing Tatum to celebrate, but the actress should also throw herself a little party for nabbing a role on "Melrose Place."
The "Step Up" star will join Ashlee Simpson-Wentz on the revamped CW series. According to E! (who spoke with "Melrose" exec producer Todd Slavkin), she'll play a movie executive who works at the Paramount lot. Her storyline will get woven into that of the Melrose residents when she develops a bit of a thing for Michael Rady's aspiring filmmaker character, Jonah. Read more...
Tags Jenna Dewan, Melrose Place, Todd Slavkin
Sure, Allan Hyde may not be with us anymore on "True Blood" (oops! Spoiler alert!), but that doesn't mean we're not crushing on the man we got to know as Godric for a (way too) short amount time. And, we're hoping now that he's won the hearts of the ladies here in the U.S. we'll be seeing more of him! Press play on the video below to see just why we nominated him our Hump Day Hottie this week:
Vital Stats: This 20-year-old hails from Denmark and couldn't be more excited to find out how much girls are crushing on him stateside, describing the accolade as "cool." What's cooler is that this up-and-coming actor also happens to be single and looking for that special someone. "I'm looking for someone that I can talk to about everything," he tells Hollywood Crush. "A nice laugh, a warm laugh." Read more...
Tags Allan Hyde, Hump Day Hottie, Photo, True Blood, Video
If Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner were to pick any song to sing a duet on "American Idol" to, what would it be? Maybe a Joan Jett song in honor of her role as the famous singer in The Runaways? Or a Paramore tune since the band made the theme song to the first "Twilight" movie? Not exactly. The BFF "New Moon" stars told EW that it would be the much edgier and intense — as in Taylor Swift's ditty, "Love Story. "
In fact, not only do they love the song, but Taylor describes it to Kristen as "our song." (Hmmm ... maybe we weren't too far off in our speculation of a Kristen-Taylor affair? Only kidding!) Turns out even they can't get the addictive tune from country hottie out of their heads, as Kristen started singing some of "Love Song" to the camera before Taylor stopped her saying, "OK, lets not do that." Read more...
Tags American Idol, Kristen Stewart, New Moon, Taylor Lautner, Taylor Swift, Twilight
They say when you fall in love, you get comfortable and, yes, sometimes you even gain a little weight. They don't call 'em love handles nothing! And, former "Hills" star Lauren Conrad, who is now a best selling author thanks to "L.A. Candy," admits that after she started dating "My Boys" star Kyle Howard, she packed on a few pounds.
“I call it the ‘boyfriend layer,’” she says in Shape magazine's September issue (see her full cover image after the jump). “We were having more romantic dinners out, and I was exercising less.” So, LC decided that from now on the pair would spend romantic nights at the gym instead. Read more...
Tags Fashion & Style, Kyle Howard, Lauren Conrad, Shape Magazine, The Hills
This certainly has been quite the year for Mr. Bradley Cooper. Not only has he found success on the big screen thanks to his work in "He's Just Not That Into You" and "The Hangover," but the Coop has also found luck in the love department.
He has been linked to a slew of women including Denise Richards (he denied that one) and Jennifer Aniston (also a romance he denied). But, it seems that his heart, at least according to some well placed People magazine sources, belongs to "Bridget Jones" herself, Renee Zellweger. Read more...
Tags Bradley Cooper, Case 39, Renee Zellweger
