Vanessa Hudgens: One the Cover of 'Shape' and in the News

Vanessa Hudgens is on the cover of Shape for their April issue, but she still is in the news for more pictures of her that surfaced sans clothes.

The High School Musical star was embarrassed having to face the group of attorneys to discuss her latest nude photo scandal.

In a recent interview, she was asked if she feared that her parents would see the pictures. She replied, “the more embarrassing thing is talking to the lawyers and attorneys about it but, whatever, you deal.”

The actress who stars in the movie Sucker Punch, was said to be furious when more revealing images from her posing nude back in 2007 emerged online in March.

On getting in tremendous shape for Sucker Punch, Hudgens says, “I knew it was going to be hard but I didn’t know how hard. In the beginning I could dead lift 135 lbs. By the end, I lifted 180 lbs. I was a monster … Exercise is amazing from the inside out. I feel so alive and have more energy.”

I'm not sure why you would want to, but you can buy her 2009 movie Bandslam here:

British Actor Michael Gough Dies at 94

He was Batman's butler.

Michael Gough, the British actor best known for playing Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred in a series of Batman movies, has died at age 94.

Gough's career included more than 150 movies and television shows, including the British science-fiction show "Doctor Who." He died of old age at home in England on Thursday, surrounded by family, his ex-wife Anneke Wills said through her agent.

Gough is best known for his role as Alfred Pennyworth in the Batman franchise, starring opposite Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney.

The Oscars Fall Flat

The 83rd Academy Awards opened with a montage of Hathaway and Franco delving into the mind of former Oscar winner Alec Baldwin in an Inception-inspired moment, narrated by the smooth-voiced Morgan Freeman.

Perhaps the funniest moment of the opening montage, however, was Hathaway and Franco both donning leotards and tutus to join Natalie Portman in Black Swan.

The pair attempted to impress the hard-nosed Vincent Cassel with their dancing abilities, and left Portman looking flustered with their 'talent'.

Hathaway also returned to her former duty at the Oscars in 2009 when she joined then-host Hugh Jackman for a duet to open the show.

Paying tribute to the track, Hathaway donned a tuxedo to perform a comic rendition of On My Own from Les Miserables.

Directing the song at Jackman, who sat in the front row of the ceremony and found himself the butt of many a presenter's joke, Hathaway belted out lyrics including: 'He stuck his fake retractable claws into my heart when he left me on my own.'

But Franco, determined not to be outdone, later donned a pink dress and blonde wig to come on to the stage as Marilyn Monroe and tell a joke about Charlie Sheen.

However, if he had been hoping the joke earn him a reputation as a controversial host, it paled in comparison to Ricky Gervais' choice numbers at the Golden Globes earlier this year.

Other montages throughout the show included a look back to Gone With The Wind and Lord of the Rings.

And one of the most memorable montages of the evening was a clever piece using auto-tune technology to make songs out of dialogue from films including Twilight, which saw Edward and Bella sing 'He Doesn't Own a Shirt' about Jacob, Toy Story 3 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

One of the advantages of having a younger host, however, is that Franco used is considerable knowledge of social networking site Twitter to tweet fans throughout the show as the ceremony went out live on US television.

Using the hash tag #OscarsRealTime, Franco tweeted photographs and video of himself behind the scenes.

Here is the Hollwood Reporter's review:

'Despite an overall rewarding of brilliant performances and no truly shocking didn't-see-that-coming upsets, the 83rd Annual Academy Awards will likely be remembered as the night James Franco couldn't act like a host.'

The Hollywood Reporter

Time to move back to a more conventional host for next year, maybe I'll be able to watch more than half of it.

Discovered: A Tape of Super Bowl I



The very first Super Bowl was broadcast on CBS in 1967, a legendary game between the Chiefs and the Packers.  The teams were coached by Hank Stram and Vince Lombardi, Green Bay won a blowout 35-10 victory. It's difficult ti imagine this today, but until recently nothing more than clips from the game existed, no complete tape could be found. Not even the networks or the NFL kept a copy of it.

But a tape has been found. A man whose father worked at a TV station in Scranton, PA in 1967 found an old video tape of the first Super Bowl that his father had recorded.  Of course, it was in an attic.  In 2005, the tape's owner showed up with the tape in a shopping bag at an archival service to see about getting it restored, thinking it would be of value to fans and the public. It's estimated to be worth at least $1 million. 

The broadcast features everything, right down to the commercials which include spots for McDonalds and Muriel Cigars. I doubt too many folks around these parts remember when tobacco companies could still advertise on TV. 

The Wall Street Journal has clips from the video on their site. 

The tape is legit, but it isn't entirely complete.  The person who recorded it skipped over some breaks in the action. The image is pixilated on occasion, the sound quality varies and there are occasional eruptions of white static at the side of the screen.  Part of the third quarter is missing and the halftime show wasn't of interest to the recorder, so it was skipped.

There are some legal wranglings ongoing with ownership of the tape. 

Let's hope all that gets settled, and sometime in the next year we'll be able to watch this historic event.

Angry Birds Rio Coming in March

Good news for the millions of Angry Birds fans out there.

20th Century Fox struck a deal to bring the domesticated macaw and other feathered characters from its upcoming big-screen animated film, "Rio," to one of the most popular mobile game applications for the small screen, Angry Birds.

The Finnish creators of Angry Birds will release a version of the game -- Angry Birds Rio -- to coincide with the film's March 22 world premiere in Rio. The movie opens in theaters April 15.

On Friday, Fox Filmed Entertainment co-Chairman Jim Gianopulos announced the partnership with game developer Rovio in a press event on the Fox studio lot in Century City under a tent with giant beach balls and a lot of optimism.  The studio also screened 26 minutes of footage, introduced by director Carlos Saldanha and voice stars Jamie Foxx, Anne Hathaway and George Lopez.

Fox hopes to tap into the pop-culture phenomenon that is Angry Birds (downloaded some 75 million times and still counting) to build awareness for its latest animated project from Blue Sky Studios, creators of the "Ice Age" blockbusters.

Rovio, meanwhile, gets to introduce a new version of the game (using Blue Sky's intellectual property), and capitalize on the marketing blitz that is planned for the theatrical release.

Looks like a win-win for both companies, not that they needed any help selling their content and products.  Get ready to be invaded by Angrey Birds.