Gwen Stefani as a brunette? The singer told Harper's Bazaar that she's considered coloring her hair brown -- "Then I said, 'Nah, I'm gonna milk this blond as long as I can." The singer also spoke up on the future of her career. "Some days, I think there's no way to get away with this any longer," she said in an interview published in the magazine's May issue, on newsstands April 24. "I still feel like that sometimes, even though it's been 20 years. But then some days, I just feel really inspired and I really believe in everything. It's like the 15 minutes just keep getting longer." ...

Keeping up with the Joneses got that much more difficult Friday (April 13) with news from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas that Shia LaBeouf has officially been cast in the fourth installment of the "Indiana Jones" series. "We are excited about bringing Shia into our Indy family," Spielberg said in a post on IndianaJones.com. The announcement ends weeks of "Will he or won't he?" speculation, much of it fueled by LaBeouf himself. The 20-year-old "Disturbia" star had previously denied his involvement when news of the casting first leaked and recently told MTV News, "I haven't been presented with the idea. I haven't been approached." In the Friday post on IndianaJones.com, LaBeouf said, "I was hoping the rumors were true, so I couldn't be more thrilled. To be cast in an Indiana Jones film is like grabbing the brass ring and holding on for the ride. I can't wait to take that giant step in front of the Indy cameras." "Indiana Jones 4" will be released worldwide May 22, 2008. ...

A judge has granted C-Murder permission to attend his first book-signing event to promote his street-lit novel "Death Around the Corner." The rapper, currently under house arrest, will participate in the signing during the New Orleans Jazzfest on May 5 at the one of the city's largest black-owned bookstores, Community Book Center. ... A judge has delayed a custody hearing over Anna Nicole Smith and Larry Birkhead's baby, The Associated Press reports. The decision was made to allow the deceased model's mother, Virgie Arthur, more time to negotiate a private-visitation arrangement with Birkhead. In related news, two Smith diaries will be auctioned as scheduled on Saturday, despite her former partner Howard K. Stern's claim that they are stolen property. ...

Ozzy fans, be on the lookout: Select copies of his Black Rain album will contain a code giving the owners first chance at seats for Ozzfest. The specially marked copies will be available at retail stores May 22 but can be preordered in the meantime. The code is good for two tickets, with supplies limited, and will be effective four days before the general public has access to tickets on June 12. ... James Blunt is in the clear. The singer/songwriter will not be charged for allegedly driving over someone's foot after leaving a party in February, AP reports. ...

Fred Durst misses being the frontman for Limp Bizkit, and according to a blog post, he'd like to head out on the road and stage "a landmark event." Durst said, "I would love to do a tour with the original Limp Bizkit" lineup, which no longer includes guitarist Wes Borland, who left the band to launch his own project, Black Light Burns. Limp haven't toured the States since 2003. "Imagine that me and Wes could work things out together and be a band again, friends again," Durst wrote in the post. "We had so many wonderful times. I am proud to say that I have learned so much from my mistakes and it has taken a long time to evolve to this place where I finally let myself be healed. Without Limp Bizkit, I would have never gotten here. Without Wes, I wouldn't know what it is like to work with the best." ...

Julian Lennon, the eldest son of John Lennon, has sold his stake in his father's compositions for the Beatles, according to The Wall Street Journal. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a source told the paper that the shares of the catalog were "significant." The deal for the songwriting income generated by the Lennon compositions was made with Primary Wave Music Publishing, which last year paid an estimated $50 million for a 50 percent stake in the music-publishing catalog of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. ...

Muse frontman Matt Bellamy has spoken out against the Live Earth gigs, saying that it might be hypocritical to stage the event, aimed at raising climate awareness worldwide, when it could have an adverse affect on the climate. "Private jets for climate change, not sure about it, that seems to be a bit on edge really," he told the BBC. Ashok Sinah, a director of Stop Climate Chaos, responded to defend. "They have to reduce carbon emissions, we have to reduce carbon emissions, and in just the same way that we may look at a pop star and say, 'You use more carbon than I do,' people from Africa could look at us and think, 'We don't go flying around everywhere.' I have met people in Africa who haven't even made a phone call, let alone get on a plane." Sinah also noted that the concerts were just the beginning of a larger overall campaign. "We have got to make sure that the people that come to us post-concert are actively engaged and get involved in the campaign." ...

Trey Anastasio pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance on Friday, avoiding a possible 14-year prison term. AP reports that Anastasio, 42, accepted a plea deal in his felony drug case that will require the singer to serve 12-15 months in New York's drug court program, during which he'll make weekly court appearances, submit to drug testing and perform community service. The charges stem from a December arrest in which police claim he was found in possession of heroin and an anti-anxiety drug prescribed to someone else and was driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. ... Heather Locklear's second rock marriage has officially ended. The actress' divorce from Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora was finalized Wednesday, according to an AP report. She filed for divorce from Sambora in February 2006 after 11 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences.

04.12.2007

Mary J. Blige knows that her audience has changed in the 15 years since she released her debut album, and she's stepping up to the challenge. "My fans have children now that know me and love me the way my fans do," Blige said in the May issue of Redbook, which hits newsstands Tuesday. The singer, who is a stepmother to husband Kendu Isaac's three children, recalled a young girl who was "so nervous and shaking and she started crying" when she saw Blige. "I met one of my fan's daughters after a show, and her father was like, 'She really, really loves you.' ... And I said, 'Well, you know what that means. That means I have a whole other responsibility.' " ...

DMX was hit with bench warrants by judges in two cities in New York on Wednesday for failing to show up to court for traffic cases. According to The Associated Press, even Murray Richman, the rapper's lawyer, doesn't know where X is -- or why he didn't make the trip from his home in Arizona to White Plains and Yonkers to face the charges. "He said he missed a flight," Richman said. "He's always missing flights." DMX had already skipped the Tuesday White Plains date -- which was for June charges of speeding, changing lanes dangerously, driving without a seat belt and with a suspended license -- but the judge granted him an extra day to show up. He was due in a Yonkers court to face an October charge of driving with a suspended license. ...

Swizz Beatz and Mya headlined a Giant magazine showcase Wednesday night at Cielo in New York. Nina Sky, "Wire" actor Hassan Johnson and Mashonda took in the festivities, which were helmed by DJ S&S. ...

Tom Hanks is in final negotiations to reprise his role as symbologist Robert Langdon in "Angels & Demons," a prequel to the worldwide blockbuster "The Da Vinci Code," according to The Hollywood Reporter. Also written by Dan Brown, "Angels & Demons" centers on Langdon's search for a canister of antimatter hidden by the Illuminati to destroy Vatican City. Director Ron Howard is also in final negotiations to return for the flick, which is set to be released December 19, 2008. ...

Korn's temporary kitman Terry Bozzio has ended his involvement with the band after supplying the drum parts for Korn's upcoming, still-untitled LP. For now, it remains unclear just who'll be handling drum duty during Korn's upcoming tour, with original drummer David Silveria still on "hiatus." ... Marc Anthony is about to write the IRS a huge check. Turns out the Latin singer forgot to file tax returns from 2000 through 2004 on more than $15 million in income, so he's agreed to pay close to $2.5 million in back taxes, interest and penalties to correct the oversight, according to an AP story. The Manhattan District Attorney declined to prosecute Anthony because a professional accountant prepared his tax returns and the singer apparently thought the returns had been filed. Two of Anthony's business associates have pleaded guilty to tax felonies and are facing stiff fines. ...

Static-X canceled their Dallas gig Wednesday night as drummer Nick Oshiro recovers from a broken hand. In a message on the band's MySpace page, frontman Wayne Static said "we'll come back through as soon as we can," adding that "Nick is doing OK, although he's more than a little bummed that he's going to have to take a break from the tour." Static-X will be flying a temporary drummer in for the band's gig Friday in Houston, "with Nick re-joining the tour as soon as his cast comes off." ...

Novelist Kurt Vonnegut, a counterculture icon whose darkly comic novels became American classics, died on Wednesday in Manhattan at age 84 after brain injuries suffered during a fall several weeks ago, The New York Times reported. Vonnegut was best known for his biting 1969 anti-war novel "Slaughterhouse-Five," which detailed his experience as a prisoner of war during the firebombing of Dresden, Germany, in World War II and resonated with many young Americans who were against the Vietnam War. Through countless essays, plays, short fiction and 14 novels such as "Cat's Cradle" and "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater," Vonnegut used pessimistic humor, science fiction, philosophy, creative punctuation and sentence structure and a treasure trove of made-up religions, alternate human races and metaphysical phenomena to describe and comment on the human condition and our perilous place in the universe. ...

A federal judge has ruled that Collier County sheriff's deputies did not use excessive force in restraining Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida, in 2003, The Naples Daily News reports. The decision deals a blow to civil claims brought against the police by Lifeson and his son, Justin, who allege that deputies violated their civil rights with excessive force as well as "illegal detention." Lifeson and his son were charged with battery, resisting an officer with violence, and disorderly intoxication in connection with the incident, and last year accepted a deal offered by prosecutors, pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence. They were sentenced to 12 months probation. ...

The Beatles' Apple Corps has settled a long-running $59 million royalty dispute with the EMI Group in a deal that experts predict could pave the way for the Beatles' music to finally be sold online. According to a Reuters report, no terms were announced in the March settlement, which came after the company representing the Beatles announced in December 2005 that it was suing EMI after negotiations over the nearly $60 million in unpaid royalties broke down. The new deal leaves EMI and Apple Corps open to negotiate a new royalty plan that could include download sales. ... Actor Roscoe Lee Browne has died after a long battle with cancer, AP reports. He was 81. Browne won an Emmy Award for his guest role as Professor Foster on "The Cosby Show," and he narrated the movie "Babe."