MTV Awards, Farm Aid, Busta Rhymes busted, Weintsteins look East, Anna Nicole breast surgery
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 8/8/07 — Justin Timberlake and Beyonce led the nominees for the MTV Video Music Awards with seven nods apiece, it was announced Tuesday. “Irreplaceable” was nominated for video of the year, as was Timberlake’s ambitiously cinematic “What Goes Around … Comes Around,” which co-starred Scarlett Johansson. Also competing in the category are Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab,” Kanye West’s “Stronger,” Rihanna’s “Umbrella” (featuring Jay-Z) and Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E.” Timberlake was also nominated for male artist of the year and “most earth shattering collaboration” for pairing with Timbaland for “Sexy Back.” Beyonce was nominated for female artist of the year and for her collaboration with Shakira on “Beautiful Liar.”
How are they going to keep them on the Farm after they’ve seen the big city? Farm Aid moves to New York City for the first time with regulars John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, Neil Young and Dave Matthews. Joining them at the Sept. 9 Randalls Island show will be Counting Crows, the Allman Brothers Band and others, Farm Aid said on Wednesday.
Rapper Busta Rhymes has been sued by a man who alleges him and his crew beat him after he spit on one of their cars. In the lawsuit filed this week in Manhattan state Supreme Court. Roberto LeBron, 20, charged that he was kicked in the head after an encounter with Rhymes and his nine bodyguards in August 2006, according to Billboard. Rhymes also faces separate trials on charges that he drove drunk, drove with a suspended license, and beat and kicked a former employee.
Film producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein have launched a $285 million movie fund that will invest in Asian-themed projects, such as a remake of the seminal 1954 Kurosawa classic “The Seven Samurai.” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” star Zhang Ziyi has signed on for two projects and The Weinstein Company has invested in “The Forbidden Kingdom,” the first movie featuring both Jackie Chan and Jet Li, which is filming in China.
A videotape of Anna Nicole Smith’s 1994 breast surgery has been stopped from circulation with a restraining order. A judge granted the motion at the request of Smith’s former attorney and executor of her will, Howard K. Stern. The vid was shot by her surgeon, and ended up in the hands of a memorabilia dealer.
By Jeffrey Jolson