Twilight Series 3rd Movie, "Eclipse", Will Premiere Only 7 Months After "New Moon"

Twilight might not be a heavy hitter at this year's Oscars, but fans of the book-based film have the best kind of news to celebrate this weekend.

Summit Entertainment is expected to officially announce a green light for a second sequel, Eclipse, to hit theaters on June 30, 2010, says Variety.

That would give those who obsess on all things Bella, Edward and Jacob a new bite out of the series just seven months after the first follow-up, New Moon, premieres on Nov. 20 of this year.

For the uninitiated, New Moon finds Taylor Lautner's Jacob, a werewolf, emerging as a central figure.

Eclipse then forces Bella (Kristen Stewart) to choose between Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob.
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Ellen And Paris--BFF's

On Monday's The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the talk show host gives Paris Hilton a huge photograph of them together from their night out a few months back.

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Will Drew Barrymore Direct Third Twilight Movie?

The actress and budding director revealed she's in consideration to helm Eclipse, the third film in the Twilight saga, The Associated Press reports."I'm one of the directors that is being talked about, which is great, because I'm a director now," Barrymore said.

"But, you know, they'll make their choice."Barrymore's directorial debut, Whip It!, starring Ellen Page, will be released later this year.

If Barrymore gets the directing gig, she will be the third director in the vampire film franchise. Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass) replaced Catherine Hardwicke for New Moon, scheduled to hit theaters in November.

Eclipse is tentatively earmarked for a June 2010 release.
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Real Housewives of NYC's Alex Loses Her Job With Victoria's Secret

Count Alex McCord as one of the millions of Americans being hit by the bad economy.

The Real Housewives of New York City star, known for going on extravagant shopping trips with her husband Simon Van Kempen, was just laid off from her visual merchandising job at Victoria’s Secret.

“Now I’m more a Real Housewife than I ever have been before!” McCord tells PEOPLE. “The whole time this show’s been on people have said ‘Define this term housewife,’ ‘Are you a real housewife?’ And I always said, ‘Well, I own a house and I am a wife! But now I’m a real housewife.”

The layoff was not related to McCord’s being on the Bravo reality show. The loss of her full-time job was one of 90 positions cut at the company’s New York headquarters — part of a 10-percent reduction in the brand’s workforce.

McCord had been at the job for two years. She started after a period of freelancing when her sons, Francois and Johan — with Van Kempen — were young. “I had a great time, and even up until the last week I was there, I was gaining new skills,” she says. “My job was my green zone — when I was not Alex from Real Housewives but Alex who’s in beauty.”

What’s next? “The challenge will be to find something meaningful to do, where I am the real Alex McCord and not just a Real Housewife,” she says. Of course, that will depend a lot on employers, and whether they look at her resumé and skills as a graphic artist, “or if they’ll expect me to come into the interview wearing a leopard-print dress, looking for connections,” she says with a laugh.

The McCord-VanKempens have a plan to manage the financial storm. “Alex has got until the end of April [when her severance package runs out] to replace her income,” VanKempen tells PEOPLE, “otherwise we’ll have to start cutting back on discretionary income.”

Since VanKempen still has his job as a hotel manager, McCord says the family shouldn’t have trouble paying their monthly bills.
But her salary was the one that tended to pay for their infamous shopping sprees, not to mention the cost of their full-time nanny.

“If we need to make cutbacks, that’s easy: don’t go shopping!” McCord notes. As for their annual trips to St. Barth’s, “That’s still happening. But if it comes to needing to make cutbacks, I would rather not shop than have to add to the unemployment by laying off our nanny. And that has nothing to do with not wanting to take care of our children … She has a family as well, and that would be terrible for her.”

But won’t they miss the shopping? She reveals: “Those shopping sprees that you see on the show? That’s only once or twice a year. We don’t have time to shop like that. We do killer kamikaze shopping sprees for like two hours and then don’t shop for six months.”
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Trista Sutter Has A Baby Shower

America's favorite Bachelorette, Trista Sutter, is expecting a daughter with her husband of five years, Ryan, in April, and she invited OK! to her shower for baby No. 2!

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American Idol's First Night With The Final 13

One by one, American Idol's first-ever Top 13 dipped into Michael Jackson's expansive songbook Tuesday, some confident that their vocals would shine, some hoping that passion, personality and sheer will would help their performances rise above the already karaoke-favorite material—some of the hardest out there to imitate, let alone make new.

Lil Rounds: The 23-year-old frontrunner—the word brilliant has been getting a lot of play lately—channeled Josephine Baker from the shoulders up and Etta James with her sound on a bluesy version of "The Way You Make Me Feel," one of the hittiest of the Jackson hits we heard tonight. Randy declared for the 80th time that season eight had really kicked off on the right note, and Paula called Lil "the force to be reckoned with."

Scott MacIntyre: This season's walking inspiration took to the piano for "Keep the Faith"—a wise choice considering that song isn't a Jackson fave and he really thrives on the ivories. His strong vocal was more than enough to keep him sailing on through, although Simon warned him, "It's fine being artistic, just not on this show."

Danny Gokey: The soulful church music director with the groovy glasses lightened the mood a bit with "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" and reaped the rewards—although his performance proved there's not an impromptu dance step in the book that will please Simon. "It doesn't matter, I really like you tonight," the Brit added.

Michael Sarver: "I just wish we knew what you did for a living," Simon deadpanned as he critiqued "You Are Not Alone," as done by the country's best-known oil rig roughneck. The ballad, one of the harder Jackson songs to get out of your head, served Sarver well, complementing the burly family man's warm, solid (if unextraordinary) voice.

Jasmine Murray: The 16-year-old wild card finalist assigned herself quite the task with "I'll Be There," Murray did a solid job, hitting enough big notes to avoid embarrassment, but, although Jackson pulled it off when he was barely 13, Murray's performance ventured into high-school concert night territory.

Kris Allen: Having already tested the water with "Man in the Mirror" a couple weeks ago, Allen theoretically could have been more jaded than the rest as far as trying to impress the judges with Jackson goes. But he managed to do something different by injecting guitar into "Do You Remember the Time." His voice hit a few bum notes, but everything's better with guitar (even though it was hard to hear against the back beat). "It was kinda cool for me, kind of Jason Mrazy," Randy the wordsmith said.

Allison Iraheta: Like Jasmine, she's 16, but Allison booms and rasps as if life has given her a reason to sing "Give in to Me." Having solidly established herself in the semifinals, the crimson-headed teen proved she has the chops to play with the big girls. "You're a rock star up there, keep doing what you're doing," Paula said, though Simon advised her to "lighten up a bit." The kids can't win with him, can they?

Anoop Desai: Someone was due to bust tonight and unfortunately it was lucky finalist No. 13. The fan favorite tried his hand at "Beat It" and it came out as you might expect—like the most-played track in a karaoke bar. Even Paula thought so. "To me, that song is untouchable," she lamented. "And it actually looked a bit stupid," Simon added, somewhat unnecessarily.

Jorge Nuñez: Simon couldn't wait for it to end, but we thought Jorge made the most out of the Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye." Of course, we tend to like the old-fashioned stuff... Like with Anoop before him, Kara DioGuardi couldn't feel the emotional connection.

Megan Corkrey: So, Jackson sang "Rockin' Robbin" when he was a kid, but really it's Bobby Day's song. Oh well, Megan tackled it anyway. We felt it totally suited her rough 'n' tumble voice but Simon called it a "stupid song choice." Meanwhile, Paula thought the song choice great, but didn't hear the sound she's come to love.

Adam Lambert: At the other end of the spectrum lay Adam's version of "Black or White," which was rockin', current, jazzy and jaunty all at the same time. A really good vocal and, while it was a risky song choice, he did more to make it his own than all the other contestants put together. Paula predicted an appearance in the finals for him, while Simon deemed the performance "In a totally different league" than everything else that occurred onstage tonight.

Matt Giraud: Of course the dueling piano player accompanied himself on "Human Nature" and he sounded quite soulful—and looked quite sexy. But at the risk of sounding like a pack of swooning school girls, we admit it was hard to focus because we were still wrapping our minds around Adam's performance.

Alexis Grace: The first through to the Top 13 and the final performer tonight, the velvety voiced chanteuse ripped into "Dirty Diana." She hit fierce note after fierce note, but Simon—running out of time at this point in the broadcast—warned her about over singing. "You're back!" Kara exclaimed, though it was more of a "long time no see" than a "that's the ticket!"
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Iron Chef's Cat Cora Is Pregnant--But There's A Twist

Iron Chef's Cat Cora is pregnant with a baby boy. And she'll be in the delivery room sooner than you think!

Because her wife Jennifer, is giving birth in April to another boy.

But wait, it’s even more complicated than that! Cat is carrying Jennifer’s biological child — while Jennifer doesn’t know whose she is pregnant with! Eggs from both women were implanted in her, and they have decided they don’t want to know who the “real” mother is.

As for the dad. He’s the same in both cases — but it was an anonymous donor, so neither the couple, nor their kids will ever know who he is.
The two births will bring the family up to six. Cara already has two sons, Zoran and Caje.

"Jennifer and I are thrilled to go through the wonderful experience of pregnancy together,” she says. “We started the in-vitro process 5 years ago. This has been a miracle for us and we'll now have 4 beautiful children."
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Real Housewives Of NYC's Kelly Bensimon Arrested

The Real Housewives of New York City newcomer Kelly Bensimon was arrested last week for allegedly punching her boyfriend and splitting his cheek open, Usmagazine.com has confirmed.

Bensimon, 40, was arraigned in an NYC court Thursday -- two days after the alleged incident -- on a charge of assaulting Nicholas Stefanov, 30, whom she has known for three years.

According to court documents, Bensimon, a former model, and Stefanov got into a verbal argument, and she struck him with a fist, causing a laceration below his left eye.

"She split his cheek open," a Stefanov source tells Us.
Bensimon's lawyer, Stephen Turano, tells Us she has pleaded not guilty, adding, "The charges are unfounded."

Stefanov tells Us, I have always been loyal and faithful to Kelly."
Bensimon is due in court March 31.
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Zac Efron And Vanessa Hudgens Star in New Disney Ad Campaign

Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens are showing off their fairy tale romance in the latest installment of a popular Disney ad campaign.

The High School Musical costars (and real-life couple) posed for celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz in December, recreating the scene from Sleeping Beauty in which the princess is awakened by the kiss of her prince.

The shot, titled "Where Romance Is Celebrated," will run as part of Disney's "What Will You Celebrate?" ad campaign. Efron, 21, and Hudgens, 20, aren't the first celebrities to portray iconic Disney characters for Leibovitz's lens.

Tina Fey took the role of Tinker Bell in a Peter Pan-themed shoot.

Other celebrity participants include: Jessica Biel (as Pocahontas); Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony (as Jasmine and Aladdin); and Beyonce (as Alice in Wonderland).
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The Bachelor's Melissa Rycroft Is "Beautiful Dancer"

If Melissa Rycroft had an inkling of a doubt that she made the wrong decision to join the cast of Dancing with the Stars, it was erased the minute she stepped foot onto the stage Monday night.

“She was radiant. She owned the place,” judge Bruno Tonioli gushed to PEOPLE after the live show. “She embraced the whole feeling of the show.”

The Dallas beauty, whose engagement to The Bachelor’s Jason Mesnick ended on television just a week earlier, was embraced by the supportive crowd as she and partner Tony Dovolani took her mark during the commercial break before she performed.

After she and Dovolani danced an elegant Viennese waltz, the crowd leapt to their feet.

The thunderous applause was much deserved, especially considering Rycroft had only two days to rehearse while her other fellow competitors had four weeks.

With 48 hours of practice, Rycroft managed to earn one of the highest scores of the night: a 23 out of 30.

The warm response brought tears of joy to Rycroft’s eyes, and made the judges gush.

“You’re just a beautiful dancer,” an awestruck Carrie Ann Inaba said.

Perhaps head judge Len Goodman summed it up best, telling Rycroft, “The Bachelor’s loss is Dancing with the Stars’ gain.”
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Dancing With The Stars Is Back!

Dancing With the Stars kicked off its eighth season and, despite the desperately random assortment of said stars, this has the makings of a good go-around.

This barely begun season has already witnessed the premature exit of two injured stars—Nancy O'Dell and Jewel—and the last-minute arrival of their replacements—Girls Next Door babe Holly Madison and Bachelor castoff Melissa Rycroft.

The ballroom also welcomed two new pros, the show's youngest-ever contestant, its first already established star-pro couple and a pair of newly engaged DWTS veterans.

Here's the recap of last night's performances:

Lil Kim: The raunchy rapper, who revealed that she first started watching DWTS while in prison, has rhythm and her cha-cha with defending champ Derek Hough got the night off to a very saucy—and technically sound—start. She needs polish but has major potential. "You can work wonders with that tushy!" Bruno offered, while head judge Len Goodman called the performance "first class."Score: 21

Belinda Carlisle: The former Go-Go's frontwoman looked lovely, but, according to her debut waltz with Jonathan Roberts, she's missing the inherent grace possessed by past elder stateswomen such as Jane Seymour and Priscilla Presley. There certainly weren't any Cloris Leachman moments, as Bruno suggested, but the 50-year-old still needs to get that beat back, pronto.Score: 17

Lawrence Taylor: He might have been wearing Emmit Smith's cha-cha outfit, but the 50-year-old NFL Hall of Famer isn't quite disco ball material yet. Not that he needed to be, what with Edyta Sliwinska returning in fine scantily clad form after last season's one-and-done appearance with Jeff Ross. But as Len noted, there's a "naturalness" about Taylor.Score: 16

Steve-O: The former Jackass player didn't exactly stick his foot "up the waltz's butt," but he didn't suck too hard, either. Let's just say Lacey Schwimmer has her work cut out for her, but if anyone can cover up someone's rough edges with edgy choreography, she can. Score: 17

Gilles Marini: Turns out Sex and the City's Samantha would have done well to visit her naked neighbor. The 33-year-old Frenchman, who quite literally flashed into American theaters last summer, is a frontrunner at this point, as far as raw talent is concerned. He's rough around the edges, but his cha-cha was the best of the bunch. And, for the record, Cheryl Burke looks great. Score: 24

Chuck Wicks: The 29-year-old country singer is the first star to join the show having already seduced his pro partner. Julianne Hough's easy-on-the-eyes boyfriend showed a lot of potential, waltzing his girlfriend around the ballroom with relative ease, although his desire to impress her—and make her laugh during rehearsals—could make for a rough ride behind the scenes.Score: 20

Holly Madison: DWTS first-timer Dmitry Chaplin certainly didn't need to whip his Playboy Playmate partner into shape for the challenge. Holly's lovely limbs, spray-tanned to perfection, could serve her well eventually, but tonight's cha-cha proved that a week's practice just ain't enough.Score: 18

Ty Murray: Well, Jewel wouldn't have had to worry about her hubby wrangling the title away from her. The rodeo cowboy gave his cha-cha a go, and his aw-shucks demeanor is very charming, but newcomer Chelsie Hightower is probably going to have a very short debut season.Score: 14

Shawn Johnson: Girl knows how to compete. The Olympic gymnast, fresh off a four-medal performance in Beijing and the youngest-ever DWTS competitor at 17, has the potential to add a disco ball to her trophy case. Her waltz was graceful—"surprisingly refined," Bruno called it—and she partners well with the boyishly handsome Mark Ballas (who, after all, is only 22).Score: 23

Steve Wozniak: It is possible for the billionaire entrepreneur to win this season. It would require free iPods suddenly appearing in mailboxes across the U.S., but still... Anyway, Karina Smirnoff had her man suited up to be the clown, trotting him out for the cha-cha in a pink boa, but unless Wozniak's minions find a way to hack the database, the likable Apple Computer cofounder probably won't last too long.Score: 13

David Alan Grier: The comedian was likable but forgettable, his waltz—and his face—being neither here nor there. "One character will suffice," Bruno advised, referring to Grier's constantly shifting facial expressions. The In Living Color star couldn't even get a break from former Fly Girl Carrie Ann Inaba, who docked him a point for lifting both of Kym Johnson's feet off the ground. Score: 19

Denise Richards: She was the first to cry during rehearsal this season, but the actress rebounded nicely, minus that limp left arm. Going for Richards already are her flexibility, killer bod and fan-favorite partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Not great are those nerves, which she needs to shake. "You've got it all, but you don't know what to do with it!" exclaimed Bruno. Score: 18

Melissa Rycroft: OK, we'll say it... Suck it, Jason Mesnick. A week after being ceremoniously dumped on national TV (thanks, producers, for replaying the moment tonight), in a snazzy bit of ABC synergy the former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader made a triumphant return to prime time. Her promising waltz, combined with all the good will she's acquired (standing ovation, anyone?), means Tony Dovolani finally has a shot at the title.Score: 23

The 13 contestants will dance again next Monday and this week's scores and votes will be combined with next week's before the season's first elimination show on Tuesday, March 17.

Here's a rundown of tonight's leaderboard:
Gilles and Cheryl: 24
Shawn and Mark: 23
Melissa and Tony: 23
Lil Kim and Derek: 21
Chuck and Julianne: 20
David and Kym: 19
Denise and Maksim: 18
Holly and Dmitry: 18
Belinda and Jonathan: 17
Steve-O and Lacey: 17
Lawrence and Edyta: 16
Ty and Chelsie: 14
Steve and Karina: 13
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Carrie Underwood Covers Motley Crue For New ‘Idol’ Farewell Song

“American Idol” will have a new reigning champ soon enough, but until then, fans of the show will be hearing a former “Idol’s” sendoff to the not-so-lucky contestants.

Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood has recorded a remake of Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home” to be played as a farewell ballad to each finalist who is sent home, FOX announced on Monday.

The song will debut on “Idol” March 11, and will be available exclusively on iTunes until March 16. After that, the single will be available through all online music retailers.

A portion of the sales proceeds from “Home Sweet Home” will benefit The Humane Society of the United States, a cause near and dear to Carrie’s heart.

“I’ve always loved this song, and besides being fitting for ‘Idol’, to me, the title is also very fitting with animal rescue and finding animals their own homes,” she said. “So we felt it was important to tie the release into an amazing animal charity like the HSUS.”

Previously, “Idol” send-off songs have included “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter, “Home” by Chris Daughtry and former “Idol” winner Ruben Studdard’s remake of “Celebrate Me Home” by Kenny Loggins.

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Is Robert Pattinson A Serial Flirter?

While downing Stella Artois at LA's Palihouse hotel, Twilight hottie Robert Pattinson joked about his workout regimen -- or lack thereof.

"Yeah, I do what I can," an eyewitness says Robert told a producer, adding that instead of a six-pack, "I prefer a 12-pack." And that appears to be fine with the ladies, who are seemingly fighting to get close to the star. In recent weeks, Robert's been spotted with a bevy of beauties, prompting the question: Who exactly is the vampire dating?

"I saw him at [agents] Patrick Whitesell and Rick Yorn's Oscar party on Feb. 22, and he appeared to be alone," says a partygoer. "But he was definitely interested in a lot of the women there, and vice versa. He would talk to one girl and then the next and then the next. Robert was talking to every girl at the party."

Including Paris Hilton! "I keep getting asked if I'm dating Rob, and the answer is no," Paris, 28, tells Life & Style. "Yes, I did meet him at a party, but that's it. I do love Twilight, though, and I think Robert's a great actor and very nice."
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Jessica Simpson Back in Daisy Dukes

It's been said that looking great is the best revenge.

Jessica Simpson performed just last night at the Strawberry Festival in Plant City, FL. Without a word to her critics for a weight debate that caused her sister Ashlee to blog her disgust at the reports, Jessica strutted across the stage in short Daisy Dukes.

The singer took a bashing on several blogs after being snapped in an unflattering outfit earlier this year. She later addressed the controversy by thanking a concert crowd in Charlottesville, VA, for their support. "Stay positive," she added, "and pray out loud."
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Cruising to Japan

How did they get that elephant through customs? Katie Holmes carries Suri and Tom Cruise gets plush-toy duty at Narita International in Japan, where Valkyrie premieres in Tokyo on March 11.

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