Zooey Deschanel
Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images

There are many benefits to being Zooey Deschanel. Getting mistaken for Katy Perry is not one of them.

"It's a little bit annoying, to be totally blunt. The only similarity that we have is that we look a little bit alike," she laughed. "I have met her before. She seems like a nice person. I'm happy that she's famous enough now that she's not going out and being mistaken for me."

At first, we thought that Deschanel was joking. But she continued, saying that for months now, pretty much everyone has been confusing her with Perry. And, to be honest, it's starting to get a bit bizarre.

"I used to get, 'I heard you were out at such-and-such club drinking whiskey!' [when] I was at home watching TV," Deschanel said. "I think we lead very different lives. At some point I feel like this will stop being a thing. I like the way my life goes. It's sort of strange to be associated with someone that's doing such different stuff than me. It's weird."

Such is the way things tend to operate for Deschanel these days. In addition to having a new film (the indie "Gigantic," where she stars opposite Paul Dano) and a new album in the works (the follow-up to She & Him's 2008 effort Volume One), she's also been having to deal with the media attention surrounding her engagement to Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard. None of this is particularly appealing to her, which is why she's been trying very hard to avoid the spotlight lately.

"I took a little bit of a break ... It's a good direction to go as I approach 30. I've been writing a lot and we've been doing some recording. I'm in an input phase," she explained. "I did so many movies in a row, and then my record came out and I went on tour. I needed a rest so I could fill up the vase with water. The vase is at a healthy level."

And she's aiming to keep things at that level — which means unplugging from pretty much everything. So, you know, if you happen to see a Zooey Deschanel Twitter account pop up one of these days, rest assured that it's not actually her.

"I know a lot of people that have had fake Twitters ... actors and musicians that I know. It's sort of a problem. There are all these people that sign up thinking that they're getting somebody's real thoughts when it's just some guy," she sighed. "There was a fake Twitterer of Ben. It was so silly because it was like all stuff like, 'I can't sleep!' I was like, 'Really? You can't think of anything better to do than to pretend to be someone else on Twitter and say you can't sleep? Come on, guy!' Ben doesn't do social networking things. Someone e-mailed him and asked him, 'Is this you?' It's one thing if they're harmless saying, 'I can't sleep,' but it's another if they're like, 'Hey, ladies! Who's around?' "

• Zooey Deschanel
• Katy Perry

Madonna
Photo: Dave Hogan/ Getty Images

Justin Timberlake got one heck of a 27th birthday surprise on Thursday (January 31) when Madonna presented him with a cupcake and champagne on the set of her new video, Madge's representative told MTV News. The clip, for "4 Minutes to Save the World," is currently being shot in London with directors Jonas & Francois (who helmed Justice's "D.A.N.C.E.") (Maroon 5, James Blunt) and will feature JT as well as Timbaland. The track will appear on Madonna's yet-untitled LP, due this year. ...

In Style magazine is teaming with the Grammys for the first-ever Grammy Salute to Fashion, which will take place February 7 and feature a performance by Rihanna. The event peeks at the spring collections from the fashion houses of Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Diddy, Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez and Jessica Simpson. It will be hosted by producer Jimmy Jam and also feature a showcase for the Recording Academy's own fashion line, Grammy Brand. ...

Beck's Odelay deluxe reissue is filled with unreleased and rare tracks, and other goodies — but incorrect lyrics weren't supposed to be among them. "The first pressing of the recent Odelay [reissue] was found to have gone out with unproofed lyrics that were taken from a lyrics Web site as place holders for layout purposes," his publicist said in a statement. "Beck apologizes for this unfortunate oversight and is making arrangements for the corrected lyrics to be available gratis via Beck.com. Subsequent pressings of the Odelay [reissue] will also include the corrected lyrics." ...

The routing for this year's Warped Tour will find the 14th annual edition of the fest kicking off June 20 in Pomona, California, and swinging through 45 cities across North America before winding up August 17 in Los Angeles. Venues for the trek have not yet been announced, and tickets won't go on sale until March. Confirmed performers include Gym Class Heroes, Every Time I Die, the Academy Is ..., Relient K, From First to Last and Reel Big Fish, who will all perform on the entire tour. ...

George Clooney toured the United Nations headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Thursday as part of a ceremony anointing him a U.N. messenger of peace, according to The Associated Press. The "Michael Clayton" actor, who recently returned from a trip to Sudan, took on his new U.N. "role" — for which he will promote the world body's peacekeeping missions — after launching many of his own efforts to end the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. ...

Dizzee Rascal and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have been added to the list of performers for this year's Plug Independent Music Awards, to be held March 6 in New York. Funnyman Patton Oswalt will host, with José González and St. Vincent — who, like Cave and Rascal, are also nominated for Plug honors — also performing. ... Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore slipped out an exclusive iTunes EP on Wednesday, according to Pitchfork. Live From SoHo showcases Moore — with SY drummer Steve Shelley and others — performing nine songs at an Apple store in New York in October. ... She & Him — Zooey Deschanel's music project with indie folkie M. Ward — are plotting to release their first album, Volume 1, March 18 via Merge. The group has also been added to San Francisco's Noise Pop, slated for February 26 through March 2. Working for a Nuclear Free City, Quasi, White Denim, Entrance and Great Northern have also been tossed onto the fest's bill. ...

Antony has handcrafted a white silk dress and is planning to put it up for auction February 14 on eBay. Proceeds will go to the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, a grassroots group that fights for the rights of people to self-determine their gender identity and expression. ... The indie-rock community is continuing to reach out to help Callum Robbins, the 2-year-old son of former Jawbox frontman J. Robbins who has an incurable spinal disease. Now rare items by Mission of Burma, Shellac, Shudder to Think, John Vanderslice, Kristin Hersch and others are The bidding will end in seven or eight days, depending on the item. ...

J Mascis's Witch project — the sludgy, metal-ish answer to his main band, Dinosaur Jr. — have thrown together their second album, Paralyzed, and it will see the light of day March 18. Witch are also scheduled to play this year's South by Southwest music festival, set for March 12-16 in Austin, Texas. ... Ex-Jesus Lizard frontman David Yow had been touring with his new band, Qui — until he suffered a collapsed lung during a stop in Pittsburgh earlier this week. According to Pitchfork, he was released from the hospital Tuesday night and is planning to attend Thursday's Los Angeles premiere of "Al's Beef," a short-form Western in which he acted. While Yow has recovered, though, Qui's live dates in February and March are still scrapped. ...

Ahoy, Pirate Bay — you've got a bit of a problem on your hands. Four men who run the popular file-sharing site are facing charges of conspiracy to break copyright law in Sweden, according to BBC News. While the site's servers don't contain copyrighted material, they do offer links to the download location of movies, TV shows, albums and software. A prosecutor reportedly said the site — which was temporarily shut down two years ago after police seized its computers — was commercially exploiting copyright-protected materials because it got its money from advertising revenues. "In case we lose the pending trial (yeah right) there will still not be any changes to the site," replied a post on the site. "The Pirate Bay will keep operating just as always. We've been here for years and we will be here many more." The men could go to prison for up to two years if convicted, according to BBC News.

1.30.08

All hail Madonna: the singer is the richest woman in music, according to Forbes.com. Madge reportedly earned a staggering $72 million between June 2006 and June of last year, with her Confessions tour raking in $260 million. Also earning big bucks were Shakira ($38 million), Beyoncé ($27 million), Gwen Stefani ($26 million), Christina Aguilera ($20 million), Mariah Carey ($13 million), Hilary Duff ($12 million), Avril Lavigne ($12 million), Britney Spears ($8 million), Carrie Underwood ($7 million), Nelly Furtado ($7 million), Fergie ($6 million), Jennifer Lopez ($6 million) and Norah Jones ($5.5 million). ... Brangelina better have a lifetime supply of Pampers — the couple are expecting more children, according to UsMagazine.com. Angelina Jolie, who already has four children with Brad Pitt, is reportedly pregnant with twins with her mate. ...

Kevin Federline's lawyer wants Britney Spears to pay up. Mark Vincent Kaplan filed a motion Tuesday asking the court to make Spears foot his client's attorney bill, according to TMZ. The Web site estimates the fees to be more than $500,000 since the custody battle began in July. A hearing on the request is set for March 10. ...

The 3-D flick "Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" accounted for roughly 90 percent of ticket sales at Fandango.com and MovieTickets.com as of Wednesday morning (January 30), even though it will only open in 684 digital theaters on Thursday at midnight, Reuters reports. ...

The Academy Awards have a backup plan in the event that the ongoing writers' strike doesn't resolve itself by then, The Associated Press reports. The February 24 ceremony's contingency program would include "history and packages of film and concepts that are not normally ones that we would have for the show if we were moving straight ahead," Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis reportedly said Wednesday. The Academy is in talks with the Writers Guild of America, AP says. ... Death Cab for Cutie have slapped a title onto their next album, which is due in May. According to a post on the indie-rockers' Web site, they're calling it Narrow Stairs. ...

What would a year be like without the Snoop Bowl? Snoop Dogg announced on Wednesday that he will stage the event for a sixth time — and he's going to have to hustle, since he's planning for it to happen Saturday. The charity game will be held at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Matt Leinart Foundation, a group set up by the Arizona Cardinals quarterback that helps disadvantaged youth. Leinart will be in attendance at the Bowl. ... A day later is the Super Bowl, of course, and ESPN is planning to sport an odd musical combo on its "Sunday NFL Countdown" pregame show prior to Sunday's big game. Acoustic heavy-metal duo Rodrigo y Gabriela will perform and chat on the show. ...

Keep your eye out for unreleased freestyle and video footage from Eminem, Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan and other hip-hop superstars that will surface on UrSession.com, a new social-networking site that launches Thursday in beta form. The site, hatched by System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian, along with King Tech and MTV News' own Sway, will also feature a music label and an area that allows artists to audition their music. The unreleased hip-hop footage is coming courtesy Sway and Tech's "Wake Up Show." ... Ruben Studdard just can't catch a break anymore. The former "Idol" champ, who was dropped by J Records last year after his 2006 LP, The Return, tanked, is suing a concert promoter for breach of contract. TMZ reports that Studdard is seeking $45,000 from Dallas company Peachez Inc. in a suit filed Monday in New York Supreme Court. ...

Organizers of the Melbourne leg of Australia's Big Day Out festival were defending themselves Tuesday against charges that they could have done a better job with security during a set Monday by bombastic reunited rockers Rage Against the Machine. According to the Herald-Sun, dozens of fans in the crowd of 46,000, the biggest ever for a Melbourne Big Day Out show, climbed to precarious spots on top of marquees, speaker stacks and trees, forcing headliners Rage to stop playing for a bit as security pulled them down. Two men were also seriously injured during the set after falling off a marquee — one dislocated his shoulder and the other suffered spinal shock — and one crowd-surfer was pulled over the barrier unconscious, according to the paper. Fans reportedly complained of overcrowding and a floor plan that made the crowd aggressive, though organizers said that considering it was the first year at a new venue, things went smoothly. "This is the first year at a brand-new venue and, generally, everything ran very well," said spokesperson Miranda Brown. In all, 11 people were transported to the hospital during or after the event and 413 were treated, mostly for minor injuries. ...

Mötley Crüe have written 10 songs for their forthcoming LP, according to bassist Nikki Sixx. "I'm very proud of the songs," he said in a post on his Web site. "I think we're onto some of the better songs we've had in years. Time will tell, of course." Some of the songs slated to appear on the record include "A Scar on Hollywood Blvd" and "The Saints of Los Angeles." Sixx said the record will be named The Dirt — calling to mind the band's autobiography, "The Dirt - Mötley Crüe: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band" — and the lyrics will follow the story in the book. "It's challenging and exciting to have to write the songs into time capsules spreading over years," Sixx said in his post. "I've written a lot of songs with [guitarist] Mick Mars ... and the chemistry in the studio as we're writing is unbelievable." ... Pink is not alone: Like the pop singer, Chrissie Hynde is joining People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' protest over horse-drawn carriages in New York. The Pretenders frontwoman, who was married years ago while sitting in a horse-drawn carriage in Manhattan, will lead a PETA protest and talk with tourists on Thursday. She's also backing a recently introduced bill that would ban horse-drawn carriages in NYC. ...

30 Seconds to Mars premiered their new short film, "A Beautiful Lie," Wednesday on MySpace. The band claims the video for the title track from its 2005 platinum album marks the first time a music clip has been shot 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Greenland. "Shooting in Greenland was a dream come true and one of the most exciting adventures we've ever had as a band," singer Jared Leto said in a statement. "Although incredibly challenging and at times it seemed just out of our reach, once we finally arrived, the beauty and magnificence of the terrain, the wonderful culture of the people, and the amazing journey itself were all inspiring beyond belief. Almost everyone has heard of global warming by now but for the people of Greenland it is a real and tangible problem of today, not an issue of tomorrow. This journey changed our lives." The band and the video's director worked with the National Resource Defense Council to find ways to offset the environmental impact of filming, including minimizing fuel consumption and buying certificates supporting renewable-energy generation that offset the environmental effects of burning coal, gas and other fossil fuels across North America. ...

Papa Roach are down a drummer following the departure of Dave Buckner, frontman Jacoby Shaddix confirmed in a post on the band's MySpace page. "It was one of the hardest things we have ever had to do," he wrote of the split. "He's taking this time to get his life together. We are still friends and still talk on a regular basis. The road is a hard place to live, and if you are falling apart, it will destroy you. He will be missed." There's no word yet on whether the band has found or is searching for Buckner's replacement. ... Chevelle and Finger Eleven — who opened for Evanescence last year — will hit the road together again starting February 19 in Flint, Michigan. Dates run through April 2 in Denver. ... Face to Face will reunite for some upcoming live shows after breaking up in 2003. There are no immediate plans for a full scale tour, but the punk outfit will play select festival dates in the U.S., including Bamboozle Left, which is set for April 5 in Irvine, California. ...

John Oates' mustache — yeah, the one you might've seen on your parents' old Hall & Oates records — is so famous that it's getting its own cartoon, according to Glenwood Springs, Colorado's Post Independent. "My mustache has superpowers," Oates, who has since shaved off the 'stache, told the paper. The 'toon is reportedly in development. ... While dating your tourmate would be pretty convenient, Miley Cyrus insists that she and Jonas Brothers heartthrob Nick Jonas are not an item. "We're just really good buds," the singer told USA Today. The "Hannah Montana" starlet was on the road with the band of brothers for the Best of Both Worlds Tour from October till December, before the Jonases were replaced by Aly & AJ. ... It's still unclear who, exactly, is in the re-formed New Kids on the Block, but after 14 years apart, the reunited boy band has a new song on its Web site. Portions of a new, untitled track have been posted on the NKOTB site over a montage of images highlighting their career. The piano ballad features the lines, "I know it's hard to see me go/ To see me standin' so close to the door/ And I know it's hard when I'm far away/ But I promise you when I get back, I'll stay." The clip ends with the words, "Are You Ready?" flashing on the screen.

• Madonna
• Rihanna
• Sonic Youth
• Zooey Deschanel
• Beck