Gossip/Celebrity News - Reuters

ROME (Reuters) - Pop star Madonna, once accused by the Vatican of staging one of the most satanic shows in history, surprised fans by dedicating her hit "Like a Virgin" to the pope at a sold-out concert held in Rome.

TORONTO (Reuters) - Filmmaker Spike Lee was focusing on the past when he made a movie about oft-forgotten the role of black soldiers in World War Two, a war film with both blood and schmaltz set in Tuscany.

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - Veteran sibling performers Donny and Marie Osmond are about to begin a 26-week stand in Las Vegas, and Marie Osmond points out that they just might turn Sin City into Sincere City.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Cancer survivors Christina Applegate, Patrick Swayze, Sheryl Crowe, cyclist Lance Armstrong and dozens of other celebrities "stood up" to battle the disease in a charity television fund-raiser on Friday.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The rock group Heart, angry that its '70s hit "Barracuda" is being used as the unofficial theme song for Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, is taking aim at the Alaska governor.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A year after vowing never to perform on the MTV Video Music Awards again, hip-hop star Kanye West will close the show's 25th annual ceremony in Hollywood on Sunday, joining a lineup that includes Christina Aguilera and the Jonas Brothers, organizers said.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Alan Ball may not be a household name, but his TV shows and films have made him an A-lister in Hollywood.

LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) - Real-life husband and wife Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly have signed on to play a married couple in "Creation," director Jon Amiel's film about the life of Charles Darwin.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Anthony Edwards, one of the original stars of the NBC hospital drama "ER," will return to the landmark TV show in November in flashback scenes playing his now-deceased character of Dr. Mark Greene.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former "One Day at Time" television star Mackenzie Phillips was charged on Wednesday with cocaine and heroin possession after being arrested last week while going through airport security.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - David Letterman is feeling a bit remorseful about poking fun at the advanced age of Republican presidential contender John McCain, telling Rolling Stone magazine that his McCain jokes are "not entirely fair."

LONDON (Reuters) - Lily Allen has thanked London police for rescuing a close friend of hers who she said had been kidnapped for ransom.

VENICE (Reuters) - Anne Hathaway's dark role in "Rachel Getting Married," which premiered this week in Venice, is generating early Oscar buzz, with several critics hailing her departure from fairytale and comic characters.

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Target and Target.com (http://www.target.com/) will be the sole retailers to carry Christina Aguilera's first greatest hits collection, "Keeps Gettin' Better - A Decade of Hits," due November 11.

LONDON (Billboard) - Morrissey has split with artist management firm ie: music after just three months. An ie: music spokesman confirmed that it had parted company with the ex-Smiths frontman, but declined to give any details.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Bill Melendez, best known for bringing the Peanuts characters to life with such classics as "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," died Tuesday at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica. He was 91.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Talk show host Oprah Winfrey threw a rousing welcome home party for more than 150 U.S. Olympic medal winners on Wednesday that was a salute to the athletes and a pep rally for efforts to bring the 2016 summer games to America.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Heath Ledger's chilling portrayal of the Joker in Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight" easily surpassed rivals to be named the summer's best movie villain in a poll released on Wednesday.

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament will unveil his first solo album on September 16 via the band's Ten Club fan organization and select U.S. indie retailers.

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Last September, Nikki Sixx's harrowing memoir of addiction, "The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star," debuted at No. 7 on the New York Times Book Review nonfiction best-seller list.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer and actor Jerry Reed, known as "The Guitar Man" of country music, has died at the age of 71, ending a career that took him from writing hit songs like "When You're Hot, You're Hot" to major acting roles in Hollywood.

VENICE (Reuters) - Actress Anne Hathaway takes on an unusually dark role as a former drug addict returning home for her sister's wedding in "Rachel Getting Married," a new film about a dysfunctional family haunted by the death of a child.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Officials on Tuesday said they charged two Malibu men for attacking a paparazzo who was snapping pictures of actor Matthew McConaughey as he was surfing in the Pacific Ocean in June.

GENEVA (Reuters) - George Clooney has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama by headlining an exclusive event for Americans in Geneva, one of the world's most affluent cities.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - What does it take to create a lasting career for kids in show business today?

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - For the last seven years, producer Laura Ziskin has divided her time between some of Hollywood's most high-profile brands, including the "Spider-Man" franchise and producing the Academy Awards.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - His theme song was "Thanks for the Memory," and now Bob Hope fans will get a chance to say their own "thanks" of a charitable kind in an auction of golf mementos and other memorabilia once owned by the comic legend.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Elin Woods, wife of world number one Tiger, is expecting the couple's second child.