It seems like Asia is the hotspot when it comes to theme park
construction and expansion, and now there’s news that the continent
will be adding yet another place to hop on some rides and enjoy some
attractions.
The company behind the new plans is 20th Century Fox, and they’re
ready to build something brand new over in South Korea. Details like
rides and attractions are limited at this point—as in non-existent.
Alas, we do know that the new park will take up around 75 acres and be a
key feature of the Ungdong Entertainment Complex in Changwon City.
Bulldozers and construction crews have not yet hit the scene, but upon their arrival they’ll be spending $3.5 billion—give or take a dollar or two—to get things done between now and 2018.
We’ll keep you posted on this one, as we can only hope there will be at
least one roller coaster to add to our theme park to-do list.
Can somebody please wipe me down? Nicki Minaj’s new “Anaconda” cover art just turned the temperature up to boiling point.
The Young Money rapper has been teasing a “surprise”
for her Barbz on Twitter since yesterday, and I was expecting a new
single, or a snippet of a new single, but somehow just the cover art for
a new single managed to top an actual song.
Now, this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen Nicki in this rare squat position, but it just seems to get better every time.
That poor g-string never had a chance.
And, if I had to guess, this is going to be one helluva explicit track.
(Nicki on what we should expect on The Pink Print)
ROME — Pope Francis met privately Thursday with a Sudanese woman who
refused to recant her Christian faith in the face of a death sentence,
blessing the woman as she cradled her infant born just weeks ago in
prison.
The Vatican characterized the visit with Meriam Ibrahim, 27, her husband and their two small children as “very affectionate.”
The 30-minute encounter took place just hours after the family
landed at Rome’s Ciampino airport, accompanied by an Italian diplomat
who helped negotiate her release, and welcomed by Italy’s premier, who
hailed it as a “day of celebration.”
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the pope
“thanked her for her faith and courage, and she thanked him for his
prayer and solidarity” during the half-hour meeting Thursday. Francis
frequently calls attention to the suffering of those persecuted for
their religious beliefs.
Lombardi said the presence of “their wonderful small children”
added to the affectionate tone of the meeting. Ibrahim was presented
with a rosary, a gift from the pope.
Ibrahim held her sleeping infant as she stepped off the plane
from Sudan, which had blocked her from leaving the country even after
the country’s highest court overturned her death sentence in June. An
Italian diplomat carried her 18-month-old son and they were followed by
her husband, Daniel Wani, who is a citizen of the United States and
South Sudan.
Ibrahim and her family are expected to spend a few days in Rome before heading to the United States.
Ibrahim, whose father was Muslim but whose mother was an Orthodox
Christian from Ethiopia, was sentenced to death over charges of
apostasy. She married her husband, a Christian, in a church ceremony in
2011. As in many Muslim nations, Muslim women in Sudan are prohibited
from marrying non-Muslims, though Muslim men can marry outside their
faith.
The sentence was condemned by the United States, the United
Nations and Amnesty International, among others, and both the United
States and Italy — a strong death penalty opponent with long ties to the
Horn of Africa region — worked to win her release.
Sudan’s high court threw out her death sentence in June, but she
was then blocked from leaving the country by authorities who questioned
the validity of her travel documents.
Lapo Pistelli, an Italian diplomat who accompanied the family
from Sudan, said Italy was able to leverage its ties within the region.
“We had the patience to speak to everyone in a friendly way. This paid
off in the end,” he said.
While Beyoncépreviewed it on Instagram earlier this week, the first full trailer debuted on Today, a fitting place to target its core audience, who pushed the E.L. James novel to the top of the bestseller charts and will likely see the movie.
Starring Jamie Dornan
and Dakota Johnson, the trailer is rather tame (mostly SFW) compared to
the content within the book, although it does tease plenty of sex
scenes between the two characters and Christian Grey’s Red Room of Pain.
It’s paired off with a haunting new rendition of Beyoncé’s “Crazy In Love,” which manages to intensify things even more than the visuals already have.
Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has revealed, in an interview with Slash Film that, prior to leaving the project, director Edgar Wright had storyboarded at least a portion of the upcoming Ant-Man film.
Feige says that new director Peyton Reed now has those storyboards in
his possession and that at least some portion of them will likely be
brought to life in the finished film.
Yeah. It wasn’t the whole movie and there are new elements in the
movie obviously, now, that [Wright] was not involved in. But there are
some segments that are awesome and will be brought to life in some
incarnation. Peyton [Reed] certainly has all that material and is a
talented enough and a secure enough guy to notice if something is really
cool and go “No reason to change that, that’s great.” Or if he’s got
his own spin on something to go and adapt it from there.
So it seems that at least some of Wright’s influence will make its way into Ant-Man. Whether or not it will be recognizable when produced by another director will be interesting to judge.
Yesterday, Microsoft lifted the veil off of its latest affordable performer, the Nokia Lumia 530, which will have to compete on a pretty crowded and tough market. Just as we pointed out in our specs comparison, the Motorola Moto E is doomed to be one of Lumia 530's arch-rivals and Microsoft is perfectly aware of that.
Even
more, Redmond today released the first video commercial for its latest
Windows Phone device, and the ad nonchalantly compares the Lumia 530
with a whole plethora of affordable devices, such as LG Optimus L3 E400, LG Optimus L5 II, Samsung Galaxy Ace Style, Huawei Ascend Y530, Alcatel OneTouch Fire, HTC Desire 210,
ZTE Blade Q, Lenovo A516, and, of course, the already-mentioned Moto E.
The ad compares said devices with the Lumia 530 in several categories -
the available on-board storage and its expandability via a microSD
card, the number of cores in the SoC, the version of the OS they run,
and the free apps and services that come out of the box.
It
comes to no surprise that one by one, all of the included devices drop
out, except for one - the promoted Nokia Lumia 530. With its 4GB of
internal memory, the included support for microSD cards up to 128GB, a
quad-core SoC, and Windows Phone 8.1, the Nokia Lumia is crowned king.
Of course, this is an ad, so it was certain that things will go this
way.
Leo DiCaprio's Gala Looks Straight Out of One of His Movies
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Leonardo DiCaprio
was surrounded by famous friends at his foundation's inaugurational
gala on Wednesday in Saint-Tropez. It felt like award season all over
again when he hung out with Jared Leto, though when Jared took the stage, it was to help with a charity auction instead of accept a statue. Robin Thicke and Bono
were the night's performers, with Leo giving them both warm
introductions onstage. Leonardo also had some surprising new pals at the
event, including Selena Gomez, who managed to make a costume change during the night and don two different dresses. The 22-year-old star continued her birthday celebrations with pal Cara Delevingne, which have been going strong since they arrived in France on Monday.
When Marvel’s “Ant-Man” hits theaters July 17, 2015, director Peyton
Reed will help shepherd the hero into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with
a cast led by Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas, with writer Adam McKay
contributing to the film’s script.
Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in
strength, con-man Scott Lang (Rudd) must embrace his inner-hero and
help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Douglas), protect the secret behind his
spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats.
Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and
pull off a heist that will save the world.
The film also stars Michael Peña, Patrick Wilson, Evangeline Lilly, and Corey Stoll.
DONETSK, Ukraine — In an interview with Reuters
on Wednesday, Alexander Khodakovsky, commander of the Russian-backed
Vostok Battalion, admitted that rebels possessed a BUK missile system —
the same system Kiev and Western intelligence agencies say downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in eastern Ukraine.
“I knew that a BUK came from Luhansk. At the time I was told that a BUK
from Luhansk was coming under the flag of the LNR,” Reuters quoted him
as saying, referring to the Luhansk People’s Republic, one of two rebel
strongholds in eastern Ukraine. They also control the eastern region of Donetsk.
However, Khodakovsky, a former Ukrainian security services officer
turned separatist commander, called out the news agency shortly after it
published the exclusive interview, saying the quote had been fabricated.
In a telephone interview with Russia’s LifeNews, he admitted to
speaking with Reuters about the BUK, but came short of an all-out denial that he had acknowledged rebels had a system in their possession.
"We had a conversation with the agency that published this information. We
discussed the various versions. One of the versions has been the
accusation [of possessing the BUK missile system]...
As commander of the militia, if I possessed such a tool, I'd never have used it
As commander of the militia, if I possessed such a tool,
I'd never have used it. None of the officers would have gone to such
irrational use... In the interview I outlined this information,"
Khodakovsky said.
“I did not say anything like this to Reuters,
and I have a recording of a conversation," Russia’s RIA Novosti reported
a source close to Khodakovsky as saying.
Reuters, however, released audio of the tape
hours later. In a clip carried and translated by Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty, a voice resembling that of Khodakovsky
acknowledges that a BUK missile system was in the possession of the
rebels, just as the news agency had reported.
“We stand by our story,”
“We stand by our story,” David Crundwell, a corporate affairs officer for Reuters, told Mashable via email.
Ukrainian and Western intelligence believe it was a Soviet-made BUK surface-to-air missile system that downed the Boeing 777 as it passed over the eastern region of Donetsk on July 17, killing all 298 passenger on board.
U.S. intelligence officials this week blamed Russia for backing the rebels,
who they say are likely the culprits behind the downing of the plane.
However, the unnamed senior officials say the Russian government wasn't directly involved in the shooting. They believe the rocket was fired from an area on the outskirts of the city of Snezhnoe.
Before the Malaysian plane was shot down, rebels had loudly boasted
of have BUK missiles in their possession, and several amateur
photographs and videos — one embedded below from the Reuters reporter
who interviewed the rebel leader — appeared to show it moving through
rebel-controlled territory.
The advanced rocket system can shoot down planes at heights up to 72,000 feet, according to analysts at HIS Jane’s, a defense consultancy.
Flight 17 was cruising at an altitude of about 33,000 feet when it was hit.
Since the disaster, the rebels have categorically denied ever possessing
the system.
In the interview, Reuters also reported Khodakovsky
as saying the BUK missile system may have originated in Russia and could
have returned there after the jetliner was shot down to remove proof of
its presence.
Mashable's attempts to contact the authors of the Reuters story and Khodakovsky were unsuccessful.
Khodakovsky, a former head of the Security Service of Ukraine’s elite “Alpha”
anti-terrorism unit in Donetsk, clashed with anti-government protesters
in Kiev during the Euromaidan Revolution that toppled former President
Viktor Yanukovych in February. He’s one the few rebel commanders
operating in Donetsk and Luhansk regions that is a Ukrainian citizen.
One reason for his admission could be due to his recent quarrels with other rebel commanders.
One reason for his admission could be due to his recent quarrels with other rebel commanders.
The rebel militias have been plagued by infighting for weeks. On July 16,
one day before the Malaysia Airlines jet was shot down, Khodakovsky was
purportedly forced to resign from his post as security minister for the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
Previously, he had butted heads with the breakaway republic’s self-described
defense minister Igor Strelkov, a Muscovite who, on the day the plane
was shot down, wrote — and then retracted — “We warned you — do not fly in our sky.”
It's a poignant time for the cast of Fast & Furious 7. The franchise's actors just completed filming the latest installment after the untimely death of star Paul Walker mid-production.
"Any time you lose a loved one, it's tough, and we all deal with it in our own certain way," Fast star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnsontold the Press Association
about the November 2013 death of friend and costar Walker. "I think the
studio was very challenged to try and work out how we were going to
continue to make that movie without Paul, which was a very challenging
and difficult thing to do."
Walker, who passed away at the age of 40 in a car crash, had filmed scenes for Fast 7
at the time of this death, but had not completed his role in the film.
To honor the late actor, the upcoming action flick will include
appearances from his brothers Cody and Caleb Walker.
"I feel like this version of the Fast & Furious movie is
going to be very special," Johnson, 42, continued to PA. "It's going to
be emotional and I think audiences are going to appreciate it."
Before the much-anticipated April 2015 debut of Fast & Furious 7,
Johnson will appear on the big screen in another major role. The former
WWE wrestler stars as the Greek legend in the new movie Hercules, hitting theaters this week.
The epic had its red carpet premiere on Wednesday, July 23, in Hollywood, where Us Weekly caught up with Johnson about Hercules, and the stunning transformation he underwent for the film.
"[My girlfriend and daughter] were blown away by the transformation,"
The Rock told Us Weekly at the premiere. Already famously cut, the
actor beefed up in a big way for Hercules, gaining several pounds of
muscle. "The first time they saw me, they were blown away."
"That was the goal," he continued. "The goal was to disappear and then to transform."
He went on to add that his hair and makeup for Hercules "took three
and a half hours every day" and required the application of "yak hair
put on my chin" to perfect that Herculean beard.
Sony is doing precious little at Comic-Con this year — with no Spider-Man
film in production, the Columbia Pictures panel isn't even in Hall H —
but they'll be back soon enough. Just not as soon as we thought, and
with different titles to promote.
The studio on Wednesday announced that Sinister Six, its supervillain team-up from the Spider-Man "universe," will be released November 11, 2016. It also said The Amazing Spider-Man 3, which had been set for June 10, 2016, is now coming sometime in 2018.
That prime June date now falls to Uncharted, based on the
Playstation game featuring Nathan Drake — a project that's been in
development for a good long while now and finally gets a deadline and a
fast-track. Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) is already set to direct his first big-budget action project.
Drew Goddard, who made his feature directorial debut on Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods and wrote much of the TV series Lost and Alias, is writing and helming Sinister Six for Sony.
“With Sinister Six in the hands of writer-director Drew
Goddard, we feel extremely confident placing the film on a prime date in
2016,” Doug Belgrad, president, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion
Picture Group, said in a statement from the studio.
It's an important movie for Sony, which is intent on expanding the
Spider-Man universe as much as it can, despite a somewhat disappointing
$706 million worldwide box-office return for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. That's down $50 million or so from the first Spider-Man film starring Andrew Garfield, with most of the softening coming in the U.S.
That could explain why Sony is delaying the film — it's been said
that the first movie turned out very differently from what director Marc
Webb turned in, and the largely negative critical reception that the
sequel earned could have Sony re-thinking it's flagship superhero
strategy. That takes time.
Shia LaBeouf allegedly did not want to disappoint Brad Pitt, who stars along with him in upcoming movie "Fury". The 28-year-old actor is afraid to embarrass Brad, as both of them will promote their upcoming movie internationally.
According to TMZ, the "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"
actor was taking his alcohol treatment program seriously. His desire
not to embarrass Brad also became a motivation for him to fight his
alcoholism.
Earlier this month, Shia's publicist claimed that the "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
actor was seeking for help regarding his alcoholism. The publicist
said, "Contrary to previous erroneous reports, Shia LaBeouf has not
checked into a rehabilitation facility but he is voluntarily receiving
treatment for alcohol addiction."
"He understands that these
recent actions are a symptom of a larger health problem and he has taken
the first of many necessary steps towards recovery," the publicist
added.
Shia and Brad star in "Fury" along with Logan Lerman, Jason Isaacs and Jon Bernthal. The movie, which is set during World War II, will hit U.S. theaters on November 14.
Beyonce performs during the Pepsi Super Bowl XLVII Halftime
Show at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on February 3, 2013 in New Orleans,
Louisiana.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Despite being married to one of the biggest names in the music
industry, Beyonce has always modeled herself as a strong independent
woman.
On Tuesday, she took it a step further by posing as cultural icon
Rosie the Riveter, who became the face of female empowerment during
World War II, when women began taking on factory jobs — many of which
were formerly held by men — to support military efforts. The iconic
image was first used in 1942 in a song of the same name written by Redd
Evans and John Jacob Loeb.
In the latest rendition, Beyonce posted the photo of herself on her
Instagram account with the slogan "We Can Do It!" as she flexed her
muscles in a denim shirt, with her long hair secured back in Rosie's
signature head scarf.
The "Run the World (Girls)" singer is currently performing with her
rapper husband, Jay Z, and the power couple recently took their On the
Road Tour to her hometown of Houston, Texas.
A 17-time Grammy Award winner, Beyonce spoke out about gender
equality in January in a contribution to the Shriver Report, in which
she proclaimed it was a myth.
"It isn't a reality yet. Today, women make up half of the U.S.
workforce, but the average working woman earns only 77 percent of what
the average working man makes," she wrote on Maria Shriver's website.
"But unless women and men both say this is unacceptable, things will
not change. Men have to demand that their wives, daughters, mothers, and
sisters earn more — commensurate with their qualifications and not
their gender. Equality will be achieved when men and women are granted
equal pay and equal respect."
The Federal Aviation Administration has extended its ban on
American flights to and from Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel
Aviv, Israel.
As we reported, the agency first issued a ban on Tuesday, after a rocket landed about a mile from the airport. In a statement, today, the FAA said:
"The
agency is working closely with the Government of Israel to review the
significant new information they have provided and determine whether
potential risks to U.S. civil aviation are mitigated so the agency can
resolve concerns as quickly as possible."
The ban applies only to U.S. operators, so airlines like Israel's El Al can continue flying to the region.
To that end, it's worth noting that former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg flew to Israel today to protest the ban.
"This
evening I will be flying on El Al to Tel Aviv to show solidarity with
the Israeli people and to demonstrate that it is safe to fly in and out
of Israel," Bloomberg said in a statement before the flight, according to CNN. "Ben Gurion is the best protected airport in the world and El Al flights have been regularly flying in and out of it safely."
He went on to call the restrictions "a mistake" that hand "Hamas an undeserved victory."
Many international airlines followed the Americans' lead yesterday. We'll update this post if that's the case today.
Ryan and Naya have been friends for four years ever since he moved to Los Angeles from New York City. Find out all the facts we know about Ryan.
Congrats again to the happy couple – we can’t wait to find out more
details about the wedding! In the meantime, enjoy these shirtless photo
shoot pics!
A plane crashed and caught fire while making a second landing attempt
in stormy weather at an airport on a small Taiwanese island, with 47
people trapped and feared dead.
Taiwanese Transport Minister Yeh
Kuang-shih said 11 others were injured when the plane crashed while
landing, the government's Central News Agency has said.
Yeh was quoted as saying the flight, operated by Taiwan's TransAsia Airways, carried 58 passengers and crew members.
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
Rescue workers work next to the wreckage of TransAsia Airways
flight GE222 which crashed while attempting to land in stormy weather on
the Taiwanese island of Penghu
Taiwanese Transport Minister Yeh Kuang-shih said 11 others were
injured when the plane crashed while landing, the government's Central
News Agency has said
The news agency had earlier quoted a local fire brigade chief as saying that 51 people had been killed.
Flight
GE222, a twin-engine turboprop ATR-72 aircraft, was heading from the
southern port city of Kaohsiung to the island of Penghu in the Taiwan
Strait, according to the Taiwanese news agency.
It crashed outside
the airport in Xixi village, with pictures in local media showing
firefighters using flashlights to look at wreckage in the darkness.
'It's
chaotic on the scene,' Jean Shen, director of the civil aviation
authorities, told Reuters. 'The fire department was putting out the
flames. They will give us the number of casualties very soon.'
Penghu is a lightly populated island that averages about two flights a day from Taipei.
The
flight left Kaohsiung at 4.53 p.m. for Magong on Penghu, according to
the head of Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration, Jean Shen.
Flight GE222, a twin-engine turboprop ATR-72 aircraft, was
heading from the southern port city of Kaohsiung to the island of Penghu
in the Taiwan Strait, according to the Taiwanese news agency
The plane crashed outside the airport in Xixi village, with
pictures in local media showing firefighters using flashlights to look
at wreckage in the darkness
At 7.06 p.m., after saying it would make a second attempt at a landing, the plane lost contact with the tower.
Visibility
as the plane approached was 1,600 meters (one mile), which met
standards for landing, and two flights had landed before GE222, one at
5.34 p.m. and the other at 6.57 p.m., the agency reported.
But it
appeared that heavy rain reduced visibility and the plane was forced to
pull up and make a second landing attempt, the report cited the county
fire department as saying.
Typhoon Matmo slammed into Taiwan on Wednesday with heavy rains
and strong winds, shutting financial markets and schools. Pictured is
Typhoon Matmo in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan
A scooter makes its way through heavy rainfall as Typhoon Matmo lands on Taiwan, in Fuzhou, Fujian province, today
Typhoon Matmo slammed into Taiwan on Wednesday with heavy rains and strong winds, shutting financial markets and schools.
Shen said the plane was 14 years old.
In
October 2013, a Lao Airlines ATR-72 crashed during a heavy storm as it
approached Pakse Airport in southern Laos, killing all 49 people on
board.
TransAsia Airways is a Taiwan-based airline with a fleet of
23 mostly Airbus aircraft, flying chiefly on domestic routes, but with
some flights to Japan, Thailand and Cambodia among its Asian
destinations.
stars as a Michelin-starred French chef who is none too pleased when an
Indian family opens a rival restaurant just across the road from her
own. The film tells a charming story about the power of food in bridging
cultures — and inspiring romance in the unlikeliest of places.
Powerhouse producers Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey and Chocolat
director Lasse Hallström helped bring the story to life, but the movie
also introduces us to some new big-screen talents. Charlotte Le Bon,
whose wide-eyed wit brings to mind a young Winona Ryder,
and the handsome and heartfelt Manish Dayal hold their own with Helen
in the big-screen adaptation of the bestselling book. Watch our
exclusive sneak peek of The Hundred-Foot Journey, and look for it in theaters beginning Aug. 8.
George R.R. Martin arrives at the premiere for the third season of "Game of Thrones" in March 2013 in Los Angeles.
Who knew so many people want to be killed off by George R. R. Martin?
Martin's wolf sanctuary crowdfunding campaign with Prizeo, through which fans could purchase an in-book death at the hands of the Game of Thrones
author for $20,000, has raised more $450,000 — more than double its
initial goal. While the two "martyr" slots available were both purchased
(one by a Facebook employee), one young fan's touching letter was enough to draw a personal response from the author.
Mashable has obtained a correspondence between Martin and the 13-year-old fan named Jack, who lives in the United Kingdom.
After admitting that he wasn't able to watch "certain
bits" of the wildly popular HBO show, Jack added that "a gruesome
grizzly death" is all he asks for. Along with the letter, he included
£153 ($260) as a donation to the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary, the
recipient for Martin's crowdfunding campaign.
The boy's heartfelt love for wolves touched Martin, and inspired the author to respond with the following.
Dear Jack,
Thank you so much for your heartfelt, touching note.
I’ve heard that you donated all your £153 pocket money savings to my
Prizeo fundraiser on behalf of the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary. I cannot
tell you how much that moved me. It pleases me no end to know that my
novels, and the TV series based on them, have inspired readers as young
as yourself to rally to the support of these majestic and too often
stigmatized animals
Alas, I cannot promise you a grisly death in THE WIND OF WINTER.
Those spots have already been filled by some very generous donors, and
there’s a limit to how many people even I can kill.
However, inspired by your example, my friends at Prizeo and I would
love to follow your lead with a $10,000 in your name to the UK Wolf
Conservation Trust. That’s a wonderful organization that I've heard much
about, and they are lucky to count people like you as supporters.
I wish you the best of luck in your future career as a wolf
conservationist, and hope that you inspire many others to follow your
lead.
Yours,
GRRM
While Martin has apparently reached his kill limit for the A Song of Ice and Fire series, Jack must be pretty happy about the $10,000 donation made in his name.
Jennifer Aniston and Sandra Bullock are new best friends.
Credit: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images; Steve Granitz/WireImage.com
A new friend for our favorite Friend! Jennifer Aniston has found herself a new bestie in Sandra Bullock, a source close to Aniston tells Us Weekly exclusively.
"Jen and Sandra are new BFFs," the insider tells Us. "They're very excited about the new friendship."
Aniston, 45, got to know Bullock, 49, over a dinner party at mutual pal Gwyneth Paltrow's house. They bonded over many things, likely including their epic, painful divorces (Aniston's from Brad Pitt, Bullock's from Jesse James), and their shared ex-boyfriend Tate Donovan.
Bullock was engaged to Donovan, now 50, in the early 1990s, but the
couple split before they had a chance to say "I do." Just a few years
later, in the mid-1990s, Donovan -- who guest starred on Friends as Rachel Green's love interest Joshua Burgin -- presented a ring to Aniston, who ended her relationship with the 24: Live Another Day star in 1998.
"Sandra and Jen have a lot in common and enjoy each other's company,"
the source adds. "They have been having each other over for dinner
regularly."
Earlier this year, the actresses -- who also share a friend in Chelsea Handler -- were rumored to team up for an upcoming comedy flick with Cameron Diaz, but there has yet to be further confirmation on the supposed plans.
After more than 30 years on the charts, comedian-singer "Weird Al" Yankovic earns his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200,
as "Mandatory Fun" debuts atop the list. The album is the first comedy
set to top the chart since 1963, and logs the largest sales week for a
comedy album since 1994.
"Mandatory Fun" was released July 15
through Way Moby and RCA Records, and sold 104,000 copies in the week
ending July 20, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It was promoted by a
well-receiveddaily viral video campaign that launched Monday, July 14.
Starting with his parody of Pharrell's "Happy," Yankovic released eight
music videos for the album through the week on various sites, like The
Wall Street Journal, Yahoo, Nerdist, College Humor and YouTube.
"Mandatory"
is the first comedy album to top the Billboard 200 since Allan
Sherman's "My Son, the Nut" spent eight weeks at No. 1 beginning on the
chart dated Aug. 31, 1963. A couple of comedy sets came close since
then, including Steve Martin's No. 2-peaking "A Wild and Crazy Guy" back
in 1978 and a pair of No. 2 Cheech & Chong titles in the early
1970s.
Also, Yankovic's sales week is not only his biggest since SoundScan
started tracking sales in 1991, it’s also the largest for a comedy album
since 1994, when "The Beavis & Butt-Head Experience" sold 118,000
copies in the week ending Jan. 2. That compilation album was presented
by the animated duo, and had comedy skits interspersed with rock songs
from the likes of Anthrax and Aerosmith. (Beavis and Butt-Head also
memorably duetted with Cher on a new rendition of "I Got You Babe.")
In total, "Mandatory Fun" is the third top 10 album for Yankovic, who
previously visited the region with 2006's "Straight Outta Lynwood" (No.
10) and his last album, 2011's "Alpocalypse" (No. 9). The latter debuted
with 44,000 in its first week — less than half of his new album's
first-week sales. (Yankovic's previous best SoundScan-era sales week
came when "Lynwood" bowed with 73,000.)
Yankovic leads a debut-filled top four on the Billboard 200, where Jason Mraz's "Yes!"
starts at No. 2, Rise Against's "The Black Market" bows at No. 3, and
Kidz Bop Kids' "Kidz Bop 26" enters at No. 4. The entire top four has
not been populated by debuts since the Oct. 12, 2013 chart, when Drake's
"Nothing Was the Same" opened at No. 1.
Mraz was initially in a slight battle with Yankovic for the new No. 1
slot, as industry forecasters suggested both "Yes!" and "Mandatory"
would sell around 70,000 to 75,000 copies in their first week.
Ultimately, while both albums sold stronger than forecast, "Mandatory"
blew past expectations.
That said, "Yes!" is the fourth top 10 album for Mraz and second to reach the No. 2 slot. (He has yet to earn a No. 1.) "Yes!" follows 2012's "Love Is a Four Letter Word," which also
debuted and peaked in the runner-up slot, selling 102,000 in its first
week.
Rock band Rise Against nets its fourth top 10 album as
well, as "The Black Market" opens at No. 3 with 53,000. It follows
2011's "Endgame," which debuted and peaked at No. 2 with 85,000.
Kidz
Bop Kids' "Kidz Bop 26" is the fourth and final arrival in the top 10,
as the latest in the kids-sing-the-hits series starts with 46,000. It's
the 40th charting album for the Kidz Bop franchise and the 19th top 10
for the series. The new set features kid-friendly (and kid-sung) covers
of such hits as Pharrell’s "Happy," Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" and One
Direction's "Story of My Life."
More on Weird Al:
While earlier Kidz Bop albums mostly featured anonymous studio
singers, recent sets have focused on branding named talent. The new
album's five young singers (Jayna Brown, Ashlynn Chong, Grant Knoche,
Matthew Martinez and Bredia Santoro) are even on tour, with concert
dates lined up through October.
The "Frozen" soundtrack spends
its 30th straight week in the top five, as it descends 2-5 with 43,000
(down 6 percent). The last album to spend a longer consecutive run in
the top five was Adele's "21," which wrapped a 39-week reign in the
region on Dec. 3, 2011.
Sam Smith's "In the Lonely Hour" dips 3-6
(35,000; down 17 percent), Ed Sheeran's "x" falls 5-7 (24,000; down 32
percent), the "Now 50" album slips 7-8 (23,000; up 4 percent), and Trey
Songz's "Trigga" drops 4-9 (nearly 23,000; down 35 percent).
Blake
Shelton closes out the top 10 with his surging "Based On a True Story
…" album. It vaults 63-10 with 22,000 — up a whopping 386 percent. The
album was sale-priced in the iTunes Store last week for $5.99 and grew
by 1,000 percent in overall download sales. To promote the sale pricing,
Shelton's Twitter account sent out two Tweets during the week to the
country star's 6.8 million followers. His Facebook page, which has 8.3
million likes, also spread the word about the discount.
Over on the Digital Songs
chart, Magic's "Rude" holds at No. 1 with 195,000 downloads sold (up 6
percent), and Smith's "Stay With Me" rises 3-2 with 164,000 (up 1
percent). Iggy Azalea's "Fancy," featuring Charli XCX, climbs 4-3 with
155,000, and 5 Seconds of Summer's "Everything I Didn't Say" bows at No.
4 with 149,000. It's the sixth song released in the lead-up to the
debut of the band's new self-titled album, which was issued July 22.
Ariana
Grande's "Problem," featuring Azalea, is steady at No. 5 with 114,000
(down 8 percent), and Maroon 5's "Maps" rises 7-6 with 105,000 (down
less than 1 percent). Florida Georgia Line's "Dirt" drops 2-7 in its
second week, selling 99,000 (down 46 percent). Nico & Vinz's "Am I
Wrong" descends 6-8 with 96,000 (down 13 percent), and Sia's
"Chandelier" reaches the top 10 for the first time, flying 18-10 with
83,000 (up 29 percent).
Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending July 20) totaled 4.4
million units, up 7 percent compared with the sum lastweek (4.1
million) and down 8 percent compared with the comparable sales week of
2013 (4.7 million). Year-to-date album sales stand at 133.5 million,
down 15 percent compared with the same total at this point last year
(156.5 million).
Digital track sales this past week totaled 20.4
million downloads, up less than 1 percent compared with last week (20.3
million) and down 11 percent stacked next to the comparable week of 2013
(22.8 million). Year-to-date track sales are at 655.5 million, down 13
percent compared with the same total at this point last year (752.2
million).
Next week's Billboard 200 competes with the same week
in 2013 when: Selena Gomez earned her first No. 1 album with the
chart-topping debut of "Stars Dance," selling 97,000 in its first week.
The previous week's leader, Jay Z's "Magna Carta … Holy Grail,"fell to
No. 2 with 77,000 (down 40 percent).
Singer Iggy Azalea has had to stop crowdsurfing at her concerts
because she says that fans were trying to sexually assault her. In fact
Iggy says that she’s now been forced to wear three layers under her
pants, two pairs of underwear and skin-colored tights, for protection
from her “fans.”
“I will get lurk tweets for like a week before my show, like ‘I’m
about to go to the Iggy Azalea show and I’m going to finger her,’ and
I’ll see it and be like, please don’t!.”
“Like, they
think I’m real slutty, like ‘Oh, she got a song called ‘Pu$$y,’ I know
what she wants. She wants these two fingers.’ Why would I want a
stranger to ever finger me? Buying my album for $12 doesn’t mean you get
to finger me when I come to your city.”
In the immortal words of wise sage George Constanza, “We’re living in a society, people!”
It seems like Asia is the hotspot when it comes to theme park
