Natalie Portman Abandons Art House, Thunders to Thor
Los Angeles (E! Online) – Natalie Portman is nothing if not an equal-opportunity fanboy pleaser.
Both comic-book nerds and summer blockbuster connoisseurs have reason to rejoice today, as the actress—not one typically associated with the grand tradition of green screen, save for her reign as Queen Amidala in Star Wars and surprisingly flattering foray into head shaving in V for Vendetta—has formally signed on to star as the requisite damsel-in-distress love interest in Marvel Studios' upcoming Thor.
Portman will play Jane Foster, the nurse who develops romantic feelings for the Norse god of thunder's earthbound alter ego, Donald Blake. Aussie star Chris Hemsworth, who recently honed his action-star skills as James Kirk the elder, will play the titular superhero.
The film is due out May 20, 2011.
Michael Jackson concert merchandise for sale
LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson's comeback concerts will never happen, but you can still get the T-shirt.
Merchandise from Jackson's "This Is It" tour, which was scheduled to begin Monday in London, will be available online and at retailers across the United States.
Jackson helped design the concert T-shirts and other show souvenirs, said Peter LoFrumento, a spokesman for the merchandising company, Bravado.
"Michael was very adamant about not just doing T-shirts and posters and key chains," he said. "He wanted to do something special and make it really innovative and different, things that were functional and fun and that his fans would like."
Among the items for sale: T-shirts commemorating the first and second nights of the concerts at London's O2 arena, belt buckles, caps, sunglasses and mugs. A varsity jacket modeled after the one Jackson wore in the "Thriller" video will also be available.
Jackson died June 25 in Los Angeles while preparing for the 50-date concert tour.
On the Radio: Casey Kasem made the top 40 really count
Casey Kasem wasn't on the radio for quite as long as Paul Harvey. But when Kasem didn't have a new countdown show on the radio this weekend, for the first time since 1970, it felt almost as strange as it felt when Harvey died.
Casey Kasem is still alive, happily. He turned 77 in April. But he has stepped away from his two remaining countdown shows - "American Top 20" and "American Top 10" - to "pursue other projects."
That familiar phrase doesn't completely explain why the countdowns ended. As Tom Taylor noted in the newsletter T-R-I, Kasem always seemed like Harvey in the sense that you didn't imagine him ever voluntarily stepping down.
"He still sounds great," says Rob Durkee, author of the 1999 book "American Top 40: Countdown of the Century" (Schirmer). "His voice is as good as ever."
Durkee, who has stayed in periodic touch with Kasem, says he doesn't have any inside information on why the shows ended. But he notes that radio, like all media, has an inevitable pull toward youth.
Kasem's own career underscores that evolution. Seventeen years ago, in 1992, he began supplementing his long-running top-40 pop countdown with the two "adult contemporary" countdowns.
"With those shows, he could keep appealing to the older audience that had grown up with him," says Durkee.
When Kasem turned over the top-40 countdown to Ryan Seacrest in 2004, says Durkee, "that was a natural transition. The younger audience that listens to top 40 could all relate to Seacrest because of 'American Idol.'"
By the way, Durkee doesn't hear much of Kasem when he listens to Seacrest. "I hear a lot of Casey in Bob Kingsley, but not much in Ryan," he says. "Ryan's a great air talent, he just has a different style."
But then, he adds, so does almost everyone.
"Casey was one in a trillion," says Durkee. "What made him so great was the way he talked to the listeners. When he told a story, you'd swear he was sitting right next to you. It takes years to understand how to do that, and no one does it like Casey."
The one thing Kasem couldn't do, however, was make himself 30 again. So although his '70s and '80s shows continue in syndication, last weekend he quietly stepped away.
At the end, he talked briefly about his radio years, played "Thank You for Being a Friend" by Andrew Gold, and told everyone "to keep reaching for the stars."
Neil Patrick Harris to host CBS' Emmycast
NEW YORK – Neil Patrick Harris, who won critical acclaim hosting last month's Tonys, will fill the same role for the prime-time Emmys.
He had been rumored for more than a week to have the job. CBS made it official Monday.
"After having had such a hoot hosting the Tonys, I was thrilled to get the call about the prime-time Emmys," said Harris, adding that he looks forward to "adding my own voice" to the ceremony: "But which voice to choose? I'm torn between gangsta, foppish Brit, and robot. Really proud of my robot. We'll see what happens on the night."
Harris, 36, will also serve as a producer for the CBS broadcast, which will air live Sept. 20 from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.
Harris, who begins his fifth season on the CBS comedy "How I Met Your Mother" in the fall, has landed a Golden Globe nomination and two Emmy nominations in his role as womanizing Barney Stinson.
He has appeared on Broadway in "Cabaret" and "Proof," and won a Web following in Joss Whedon's zany "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog." He first gained stardom in the title role of the ABC comedy "Doogie Howser, M.D." (1989-1993), playing a genius teenage doctor.