Ann Curry has already been screwed over once by NBC. Now she’s determined for it not to happen again. With CNN reportedly wooing the anchor, sources tell Radar Online that Curry wants out of her NBC contract. Big time. “She has formally asked her attorney to explore exit options from the network,” the Curry insider claims . “However, NBC bosses have indicated they are unwilling to release Ann from the contract. If Ann were to just quit, there is a non-compete clause, which would prohibit her from working for another news outlet for two years.” Because Curry was demoted from The Today Show, she believes NBC breached the terms of her deal and she ought to be released. The CNN gig is especially attractive to the reporter because former NBC boss Jeff Zucker is now in charge there. He wants her to lead a program at 8 p.m. every night. In other morning show news: Folks are screaming at Matt Lauer . Robin Roberts will not return to Good Morning America until mid-2013.
We’re inching ever closer to the end of 2012, and THG’s Celebrity of the Year. With the calendar about to flip to 2013, we’re looking back at the stars who made this year so memorable via their songs, sex tapes, naked photos, and/or arrests. Justin Bieber kicked off our top five, followed by Kate Middleton in the #4 spot and Taylor Swift at #3. Today, we present our Celebrity of the Year runner-up: Rihanna! The year will go down as another huge one for Rih musically, with the prolific singer’s albums Talk That Talk and Unapologetic both dominating the charts. That’s just part of the reason she ever-present here on THG, though. She’s young, talented, uninhibited and unafraid to push the envelope, despite being a global superstar. The last 12 months proved this like never before. Rihanna got new tattoos. She got drunk, and she got high. She got pissed at reporters. She got emotional on Oprah. She got back with Chris Brown. She posted a TON of photos on Twitter and Instagram of herself getting tattoos, getting drunk, getting high and yes, getting back with Chris Brown. This is a girl that knows the way the celebrity gossip fame game is played. She gives the fans what they want, and she gets the publicity she needs. It was getting back with Chris, who infamously beat her in 2009, that was her most controversial move of the year, though. Rihanna nude photos ? Ho hum. Many fans were unhappy. All of them were surprised. But you have to give Rih credit, even if you think she’s a fool, because she lives life on her own terms. If she wants to date her ex – or party with strippers to the point where she’s hospitalized and on IVs the next day – that’s what she’s gonna do. Period. Number of f%*ks given? Zero. Number of Rihanna hit songs? Dozens. Number of Instagram pics posted for the sole purpose of keeping us talking? Hundreds. Well played, Rih. So very well played. So here’s looking forward to the 24-year-old’s next single and, hopefully, to an even more outrageous, topless 2013. Enjoy many more memorable images of the star from 2012 below: Rihanna Ft. Chris Brown – Nobodies Business [Snippet] Rihanna VMA Performance 2012 Rihanna Armani Jeans Ad Rihanna Smacks Down Reporter Rihanna Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Performance Rihanna – Diamonds (Live on The Voice)
When Prince William and his RAF Search and Rescue squadron are done flying helicopters over the mountains and sea of North Wales … there’s always Call of Duty 2: Black Ops . William revealed his enjoyment of the game on his revamped website, which includes a new photo feature on the man known simply as Flight Lieutenant Wales. In William’s new gallery , he can be seen making the bed he naps in away from wife Kate Middleton during 24-hour shifts, working at a computer, in meetings and more. His current tour ends in late 2013 and, like all crew members, he is set to make a decision before the end of the year about whether to sign on for another few years. On Wednesday, even more new images will be published – this time Prince William and Kate Middleton pictures taken during their recent trip to the jungle of Borneo. Prince Harry naked may also make an appearance. Kidding.
Save for a controversial remark about President Obama giving gifts to ethnic groups in return for votes, Mitt Romney has kept a low profile since losing the 2012 election. Monday, a photo of Romney filling up at a gas station in La Jolla, Calif., was posted on Reddit. He appears slightly frazzled … and/or just a little annoyed: “Mitt Romney at my local gas station,” Reddit user mkb95 wrote. “He looks tired and washed up.” We know what you’re thinking … Mitt Romney pumps his own gas? Gone is his familiar, perfectly slicked-back coif from the campaign trail, but the 65-year-old apparently wasn’t as disheveled or upset as the image might suggest. “I talked to him for a good three minutes while he was filling his tank,” the poster added. “I guess he’s moving to one of his houses in the town I live in, La Jolla.” Hey, he doesn’t have much else going on now. Having run for president for the better part of six years, the former Massachusetts Governor and wife Ann Romney can finally look forward to some downtime. In fact, the couple took in a showing of Breaking Dawn Part 2 in Del Mar, Calif., one town north of La Jolla, on Saturday, then hit up a pizza place across the street. He may not be President of the United States, but on the bright side, he can enjoy the palpable on-screen chemistry of Robsten without a Secret Service detail.
Reporter 1, Drunk Lady 0. That’s the score of this fun viral clip, in which an Austin, Tx., TV journalist brushed off a seriously awkward video bomb like it was no thing. While we fully support drunk photo and video bombs in general, you gotta make it count, people. It’s going to take more than a creepy, glazed-over look and some intoxicated wobbles to faze a veteran reporter like this. Come on. At least yell “Hook ’em Horns!” Drunk Lady Video Bombs Reporter
Beyonce can’t dance away from a $100 million lawsuit this time around… Gaming Company Sues Beyonce Beyonce is performing at the Super Bowl halftime show next year, and there’s also a good chance she’ll appear in a New York court soon after for a potential jury trial . Via Hollywood Reporter : According to Gate Five Gaming, it had developed a technology that was better than the motion-driven video games on the market, that would track a far wider range of body movements than Nintendo’s Wii, and the game technology was presented to representatives for top-selling artists including Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas, who purportedly expressed interest. Ultimately, the company signed a deal with Beyonce, but the contract had a termination clause requiring certain financing by a certain date or else the singer could back out. Gate Five alleges that it spent $6.7 million on the game and had a financier lined up to provide $19.2 million in financing when Beyonce exercised her termination rights, “the hundreds of millions of dollars in profits that Gate Five could have realized if she had honored the Agreement,” according to the lawsuit. According to the ruling, issues of fact remain as to whether Beyonce intended to forgo her right to terminate the licensing agreement. The appeals court points to the record showing that she never objected to the loan as it was closing. This lawsuit has been going on for a over a year. BeyBey might want to think about settling because putting folks out of work and flaking out of work is definitely not a good look for her public image.
Savannah Guthrie had to try again. A day after The Today Show co-anchor asked Kristen Stewart about her status with Robert Pattinson – gotta keep ’em guessing , Stewart awkwardly replied – Guthrie posed the same question to this Twilight Saga stud. Rob laughed off the inquiry, firing back at the reporter and asking why she brought it up. “Is it in your contract?” he joked. Watch the interview in its entirety now and take note: turn the volume on your computer up: Robert Pattinson on The Today Show: About K. Stew…
Anderson Cooper positively destroyed Star Jones during a taping of his talk show this week. Sitting alongside Andy Cohen, the reporter addressed Jones’ comments that Cooper only came out as gay in order to garner ratings for his program. “I haven’t thought about Star Jones in I don’t know how long,” Anderson begins, as seen below. “I was unaware she was even on TV…” Anderson Cooper Goes Off on Star Jones From there, Cooper – who simply sent an email to his friend while on assignment for 60 Minutes – logically explained why Star’s assertion is utter nonsense. “If I was wanting to boost ratings, I would have waited to announce it on ‘A Very Special Episode’ that would have been promo’d for weeks and weeks and there would have been commercials … ‘Anderson’s Huge Announcement.'” He then went after Jones and her history of personal PR announcements: “As memory serves, in terms of boosting ratings, I seem to recall [Star] hocking her wedding every single day to get free products when she was on The View and I seem to recall her lying about her gastric bypass surgery and making everybody else lie about it as well. “So for her to suddenly emerge out of the shadows and suddenly attack me for this, I couldn’t believe it. Cooper concludes that he invited Jones to appear on his show, but she declined. “I would think she would want as much publicity as possible given her penchant for wanting publicity.” Game. Set. Match. Anderson Cooper.
Anderson Cooper may be the host of Anderson , but the journalist himself was placed on the hot seat yesterday by Kristin Chenoweth. Asked by the actress about his summer, specifically his decision to announce himself as a proud gay man , Cooper explained that his sexual preference was no secret to anyone in his personal life. “I came out in high school,” Cooper said. “I told my friends, I told my family. I’ve always been out to my co-workers and stuff. It’s just not something I talked about publicly, because as a reporter, I didn’t think it was appropriate. It didn’t seem like part of my job.”
Also in Thursday’s round-up of news briefs, the Academy approves some new rules for the next Oscars. A crime thriller gets a North American home and is headed to theaters. And, Charlize Theron is teaming on a story about a recently slain war journalist. Academy Approves New Slate of Rules for Next Oscars Among the changes, there will now be five nominees vying for the Original Song category. Also, the “Art Direction” award will now be known as the “Production Design” award. The Academy Awards ceremony is slated for Sunday, February 24, 2013. Crime Thriller Graceland Heads to Theaters Filipino crime saga Graceland will be released next year in theaters and VOD via Drafthouse Films. The Tribeca premiere spotlights the corrupt underbelly of the Philippines’ capital “exposing a world of deceit, exploitation, and startling depravity.” It is slated for the upcoming Fantastic Fest. The deal was negotiated by James Emanuel Shapiro on behalf of Drafthouse Films and Glen Reynolds of Circus Road Films on behalf of the film’s producer Rebecca Lundgren. Around the ‘net… The Avengers to Cash In on Labor Day Marvel’s The Avengers is seeking to increase its nearly $1.5 billion worldwide gross by heading to 1,700 theaters, hoping to capitalize on Labor Day moviegoers. It is the third biggest grossing film so far, Deadline reports . Charlize Theron to Produce Film About Slain War Reporter Theron and producer Basil Iwanyk are teaming on a film about the life of journalist Marie Colvin, who was killed in February while covering the civil war in Syria, THR reports . Clint Eastwood’s Republican Convention Prompts Mixed Reaction Delegates in Tampa have begun debating whether spotlighting a Hollywood celebrity was a good idea. THR asked 30 random convention attendees and just five said his presence was “meaningful.”
