Hugh Grant joins cast of 'Cloud Atlas' adaptation (AP)

LONDON – Hugh Grant has joined the screen adaptation of centuries-spanning novel "Cloud Atlas," which starts filming this week.

Producers Grant Hill and Stefan Arndt said Tuesday that Grant would appear alongside previously announced stars Halle Berry, Tom Hanks and Susan Sarandon.

The movie is based on David Mitchell's 2004 novel charting the progress of a single soul over many years and several continents, from the 19th century South Pacific to a post-apocalyptic future.

It has three directors — "Matrix" trilogy creators the Wachowski Brothers and "Run Lola Run" director Tom Tykwer.

The cast also includes British actors Ben Whishaw, Jim Broadbent and Jim Sturgess, China's Zhou Xun and Korean actress Doona Bae.

Filming will take place in Scotland, Spain and Germany.

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Justin Timberlake joins Mila Kunis at marine ball (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap) – Justin Timberlake says he may join "Friends With Benefits" co-star Mila Kunis in attending the Marine Corps Ball in November.

After one Marine invited Kunis to attend on YouTube, Cpl. Kelsey De Santis issued her own YouTube invitation to Timberlake. Santis is apparently the only woman posted at the Martial Arts Center for Excellence at Marine Corps Base Quantico, in Virginia.

Timberlake had urged Kunis to accept her invitation -- and at a "Friends With Benefits" press event, she in turn urged him to accept his.

"Do it for your country," she said.

"I don't feel backed into a corner at all!" Timberlake said, before adding, "I'll tell you what, I accept. If my schedule works out to do it, I'd love to do it. It's an honor."

Kunis' attending was briefly in question after Access Hollywood's Billy Bush reported that she wouldn't be able to keep her date with Sgt. Scott Moore because she is filming two movies in November.

"Do not believe what Billy Bush says," Kunis told reporters. "I am attending ... I accepted an invitation and I'm staying true to my word."

The November 18 ball will take place in Greenville, N.C., with Kunis and Timberlake on the arms of some lucky marines.

"I don't get asked out, ever. So, I was very flattered by that. And I hear that she's trained in martial arts, so I'm hoping we can tussle at some point," Timberlake said of his date.

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Adam Sandler joins vampire cartoon (Reuters)

By Joshua L. Weinstein Joshua L. Weinstein – Tue Jul 5, 4:00 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap) – Adam Sandler will voice the role of Dracula in "Hotel Transylvania," a 3D film set in a resort for monsters, Sony Pictures Animation said Tuesday.

Sandler's character is not only the Prince of Darkness, but also the over-protective father of a teenage girl named Mavis. According to the studio, "Dracula fabricates tales of elaborate dangers to dissuade her adventurous spirit."

Also on board are Kevin James as the voice of Frankenstein, and Fran Drescher as the bride of Frankenstein. David Spade plays Quasimodo, the one-time Hunchback of Notre Dame and now a gourmet chef.

Steve Buscemi and Moly Shannon play a pair of werewolves. Cee Lo Green is a mummy. And Andy Samberg is a 21-year-old regular guy who is staying at the hotel.

The movie is has a release date of September 21, 2012.

Sandler voices a monkey in James' "Zookeeper," which Sony opens on Friday. His animation credits include the 2002 feature "Eight Crazy Nights."

(Edited by Dean Goodman)

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Christina Aguilera joins Maroon 5 on new single (AP)

LOS ANGELES – Christina Aguilera and Adam Levine of NBC's talent show "The Voice" are putting their voices together on a new Maroon 5 single.

Aguilera is featured with Levine and his band on the tune "Moves Like Jagger," which will be released next week on iTunes.

They'll perform the song on the June 21 episode of "The Voice," airing 9-11 p.m. EDT. The studio version will be available to buy online following the show, NBC announced Tuesday during this week's episode.

The track was recorded last month in Los Angeles, Levine said in a statement, adding that it was "great" getting to work with Aguilera. The song was described as quintessential Maroon 5 power pop, with an upbeat tune.

Aguilera called the collaboration a "wonderful opportunity."

Levine and Aguilera, along with Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton, are coaches on "The Voice," which awards the winning singer a record contract and a $100,000 prize.

Levine won't be idle for long after the June 29 season finale: Maroon 5 is co-headlining a North American summer tour with Train that begins July 22 in California.

___

Online:

http://www.nbc.com/thevoice

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Christina Aguilera joins Maroon 5 on new single (AP)

LOS ANGELES – Christina Aguilera and Adam Levine of NBC's talent show "The Voice" are putting their voices together on a new Maroon 5 single.

Aguilera is featured with Levine and his band on the tune "Moves Like Jagger," which will be released next week on iTunes.

They'll perform the song on the June 21 episode of "The Voice," airing 9-11 p.m. EDT. The studio version will be available to buy online following the show, NBC announced Tuesday during this week's episode.

The track was recorded last month in Los Angeles, Levine said in a statement, adding that it was "great" getting to work with Aguilera. The song was described as quintessential Maroon 5 power pop, with an upbeat tune.

Aguilera called the collaboration a "wonderful opportunity."

Levine and Aguilera, along with Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton, are coaches on "The Voice," which awards the winning singer a record contract and a $100,000 prize.

Levine won't be idle for long after the June 29 season finale: Maroon 5 is co-headlining a North American summer tour with Train that begins July 22 in California.

___

Online:

http://www.nbc.com/thevoice

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Orlando Bloom joins Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – "Lord of the Rings" star Orlando Bloom has joined the cast of Peter Jackson's upcoming "Hobbit" movies -- even though his character, the elf Legolas, doesn't appear in J. R. R. Tolkien's original novel.

Jackson announced the casting in a Facebook post Friday.

"Ten years ago, Orlando Bloom created an iconic character with his portrayal of Legolas," he wrote. "I'm excited to announce today that we'll be revisiting Middle Earth with him once more. I'm thrilled to be working with Orlando again."

Jackson is currently directing the two-movie adaptation in New Zealand.

He helped catapult Bloom to stardom by giving him his first major film roles as Legolas in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Looking back, Jackson wrote on his Facebook page, "I look older and he doesn't! I guess that's why he makes such a wonderful elf."

The "Hobbit" movies, which have been in the works for 14 years, has faced a series of setbacks.

In 2005, Jackson filed suit against New Line Cinema, claiming he had lost revenue from merchandising, video, and computer games releases associated with "The Fellowship of the Ring" and was no longer attached to "The Hobbit."

Three years later, director Guillermo del Toro signed on but dropped out in May 2010 due to scheduling conflicts.

Jackson was confirmed again as director in October 2010, but union disputes in New Zealand threatened to relocate filming to Europe. In January, Jackson underwent surgery for a perforated ulcer, delaying shooting further.

On March 21, it was announced that shooting had begun in Wellington, New Zealand. Jackson also posted two images of himself on his Facebook page hanging out on set.

Actors Cate Blanchett, Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis are reprising their roles from "Rings" in the prequel, which centers on Bilbo (Freeman) finding the supernatural ring and passing it on to his nephew, Frodo (Wood).

The first of the two movies is planned for a December 2012 release and the second is expected a year later.

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)

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Jude Law joins News Corp phone hacking claimants (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – British film star Jude Law will sue the News of the World over allegations of phone hacking next year in a case to set guidelines over damages and which could involve senior management at the tabloid.

A judge hearing the case into phone hacking at the best-selling tabloid, part of Rupert Murdoch's media empire, selected Law and four others to act as lead cases in a trial which will begin in January next year.

The judge said it was crucial to establish how widespread phone hacking was at the newspaper and the degree of senior management involvement, as this could influence the level of any damages awarded.

Law's case was included because it covers allegations of harassment, resulted in numerous stories and his disclosures had pointed to a senior executive at the newspaper, his lawyers said. Lawyers for the newspaper said they were unaware of this.

A clutch of celebrities, politicians and sports personalities are suing publisher News International, a unit of News Corp, for violating their privacy by eavesdropping on their voicemail to unearth scandals to sell more newspapers.

The lead cases will establish principles for the others and eliminate the need for each one to be heard separately.

SENIOR INVOLVEMENT

Judge Geoffrey Vos said it was also important to understand to what extent the newspaper's motivation was to uncover news by a single journalist and to what extent it was about increasing profits for the paper by selling more copies.

"Those are important questions as to exactly what was going on. To set the damages you need to know exactly what happened," Vos told a case-management hearing in a London court.

The claimants say there was a "grand conspiracy" at the newspaper, meaning that illegal voicemail interception was standard practice and widely known about.

News International denies this, although it has admitted some liability and offered compensation to a few of the claimants. Actress Sienna Miller, Law's ex-girlfriend, accepted a payout of 100,000 pounds ($162,700) last week.

The scandal comes at a time when News Corp is pursuing a planned $14 billion takeover of UK pay-TV firm BSkyB.

News International also owns the Times of London, while BSkyB owns popular 24-hour news channel Sky News and critics have claimed the deal would give the company too much influence over public opinion. News Corp has offered to spin off Sky News into an independent company if the deal goes ahead.

Ripples from the scandal at Britain's best-selling Sunday tabloid have spread up to Prime Minister David Cameron's office.

Andy Coulson, who resigned as editor of the paper in 2007 after a reporter was jailed for phone-hacking, was later hired by Cameron as his spokesman but resigned from that job earlier this year after the investigation was reopened.

The court decided on Friday on four other lead cases in addition to Law's: those of soccer agent Sky Andrew, designer Kelly Hoppen, who is Miller's stepmother, sports pundit Andy Gray, and opposition Labour Party parliamentarian Chris Bryant.

(Reporting by Kate Holton; writing by Georgina Prodhan)

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"Community" star joins Steve Carell feature film (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – "Community" actress Gillian Jacobs is joining the cast of "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World."

Lorene Scafaria wrote the script and is making her directorial debut on the picture. .

Focus Features is distributing the movie domestically, which sees Steve Carell and Keira Knightley embark on a trip to find Carell's lost love set against the backdrop of an asteroid hurtling toward Earth.

Jacobs will play a waitress high on the drug Ecstasy whom the duo meet on their journey.

The movie, which also counts William Petersen, Adam Brody, Rob Corddry and Derek Luke among its cast, began shooting in Los Angeles this week.

Jacobs plays the love interest of Joel McHale on NBC network series "Community." Film-wise, she appeared in "Choke" opposite Sam Rockwell and "Gardens of the Night" opposite John Malkovich.

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)

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Mathew Morrison joins boy band tour as special guest (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – "Glee" star Matthew Morrison will join this summer's Backstreet Boys/New Kids on the Block tour as a special guest.

Morrison, who plays a high school teacher on the Fox network show, will perform in arenas across the U.S. with the two boy bands. This move will postpone some of his solo shows, but will give Morrison a larger platform for exposure.

He joins the tour in Anaheim, CA on July 6 and ends his run August 7 in London, Ontario. Morrison's show in New York at the Beacon Theater will now take place August 1.

This was an opportunity I couldn't pass up," said Morrison in a statement. "I am so appreciative of my fans and I'm planning to give them a great show."

New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys (NKOTBSB) surprised fans when they first took the stage together for a sold-out Radio City Music Hall show in June 2010. The two groups performed at the American Music Awards this past November.

Morrison has been nominated for Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe awards, and shared the 2009 SAG Award for best performance by an ensemble in a television series with the Glee cast.

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)

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Sheen bitter, Cryer "jazzed" as Kutcher joins "Men" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actor Ashton Kutcher is joining a revamped version of the top-rated TV comedy "Two and A Half Men", CBS said on Friday, ending months of disarray after the acrimonious firing of wayward star Charlie Sheen.

Kutcher, 33, the husband of actress Demi Moore, is joining the cast for the upcoming ninth season of the money-spinning show that is scheduled for broadcast in the fall of 2011.

Jon Cryer, the other principal male lead on the sitcom, said he was "jazzed" about the show returning and the addition of Kutcher.

Friday's statement from CBS did not say what role Kutcher would play but industry sources said he is not expected to be a direct replacement for Sheen's womanizing bachelor character.

"We are so lucky to have someone as talented, joyful and just plain remarkable as Ashton joining our family," Chuck Lorre, creator and executive producer of "Two and A Half Men" said in a statement.

"Two and A Half Men" is the most-watched comedy on U.S. television with about 15 million regular viewers and has been a lucrative source of advertising revenue for CBS, and syndication fees for its makers Warner Bros. Television.

Sheen, who was fired in March after weeks of erratic behavior and for publicly insulting producers, claimed bitterly on Friday that the show would flop without him.

"Kutcher is a sweetheart and a brilliant comedic performer ... Oh wait, so am I!", the actor said in a statement. "Enjoy the show America. Enjoy seeing a 2.0 in the demo every Monday, WB," Sheen added, referring to the coveted 18-49 age group of viewers.

Production on "Two and A Half Men" was shut down in February and March and the show's future was in doubt after producers made clear that Sheen had no chance of returning.

Friday's announcement came five days before CBS presents its 2011-12 program line-up to advertisers in New York.

Kutcher, 33, is best known for his role as a dim-witted stoner in "That '70s Show," and as the creator of "Punk'd".

He was last seen in the January romantic comedy movie "No Strings Attached" and has a 6.8 million Twitter following.

"I can't replace Charlie Sheen but I'm going to work my ass off to entertain the hell out of people!", Kutcher said in a statement.

Cryer, who played the uptight, divorced brother to Sheen's Charlie Harper, has been largely silent since his co-star's departure.

On Friday, Cryer expressed his "enormous gratitude to Charlie Sheen" and said he would miss him.

But he added in a statement; "I'm also looking forward to this new beginning. Ashton is an extraordinarily talented guy and his presence will be an asset to our show."

Some media reports suggested on Friday that Kutcher would get about $1 million per episode for "Men". But a source familiar with negotiations told Reuters that figure was "ridiculously high."

Sheen, 45, who has been in and out of drug rehab for the last 12 months, was the highest-paid actor on U.S. television, earning more than $1.2 million per episode.

Peter Roth, president of Warner Bros. Television, said Kutcher would bring a "new and distinctive comedic flavor" to the comedy, whose audience has traditionally been young males.

British actor Hugh Grant was reported earlier this week to have pulled out of talks citing "creative differences." Actors John Stamos, "Entourage" star Jeremy Piven, and Rob Lowe had also been rumored as possible additions.

Twitter was rife with comments about the addition of Kutcher. Eric Stangel, a writer on comedian David Letterman's TV show, suggested that Sheen should rename his current one-man U.S. tour "Torpedo of Unemployment".

(Editing by Christine Kearney)

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Pharrell Williams joins new Karmaloop TV network (AP)

LOS ANGELES – Rapper-producer Pharrell Williams is expanding his focus to include a new TV network aimed at the online generation.

Karmaloop TV said Monday that Williams has been named creative director for the network scheduled to launch later this year. Karmaloop will feature original productions along with movies that have shaped the 18-to-34-year-olds who grew up with the Internet.

The Grammy-winning Williams, who has created hits for Jay-Z, Britney Spears and other stars, will have a significant equity position in Karmaloop TV, according to the company.

In a statement, Karmaloop CEO Greg Selkoe said Williams will help create a brand that will get "cutting-edge youth culture" excited about TV, as MTV did in the 1980s.

Williams, frontman for the rap-rock trio N.E.R.D. and half of the production duo The Neptunes, said the "progressive youth culture" is underserved by what's available in the marketplace.

Karmaloop TV is an outgrowth of Karmaloop, a 10-year-old website that sells streetwear brands from around the world, and online KarmaloopTV. Katie McEnroe, former president of the AMC cable channel, is head of Karmaloop TV.

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