James Franco in The Wizard of Oz

'Oz: The Great And Powerful' Gets Synopsis, New Details

Though the Yellow Brick Road didn't lead to Anaheim over the weekend -- instead, it was snaking through the film set in Detroit -- director Sam Raimi and star James Franco sent over to the D23 convention a video that gave a quick first look and some new information about their upcoming "Wizard of Oz" prequel.

Titled "Oz: The Great and Powerful," the film, which began shooting last month, casts Franco as Oscar Diggs, a huckster magician who gets swept up in a storm and delivered to the beloved land of Oz. Boasting a cadre of major co-stars -- his assistant will be played by Zach Braff, while the land's witches include Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz -- and a director who specializes in epic, special effects-driven films, the project is in its early stages, but still offered some concept art for the fans and press members in attendance.

Here's a snippet of ComingSoon.net's detailed summary of those early pieces of art and video:

Concept art included several images of the lush, emerald green hills of Oz, with the yellow--but not always bricked--road winding it's way throughout. The impossible geography of Oz showed through as well, with arching rock formations seemingly miles long and a mountain shaped like an elephant. Pictures of the Emerald City showcased an art deco influence.

Disney also re-released an official synopsis for the film, which is due out March 8, 2013.

Walt Disney Pictures' fantastical adventure "Oz The Great and Powerful," directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum's beloved character, the Wizard of Oz. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he's hit the jackpot--fame and fortune are his for the taking--that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity--and even a bit of wizardry--Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

Hilary Duff Announces Pregnancy

Hilary Duff Announces Pregnancy

A baby's on the way for Hilary Duff and husband Mike Comrie. The actress announced she's pregnant on her official website Sunday.

In a special first anniversary post, Duff, 23, wrote how she can't believe how fast time has flown by with Comrie, who plays ice hockey for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and added the happy news.

“We also want to share the exciting news that… BABY MAKES THREE!!! We are extremely happy and ready to start this new chapter of our lives," she wrote.

News of her pregnancy comes as a surprise, considering she recently told Access Hollywood that she feels she's too young to have kids just yet.

“We talk about it. Yes, we’re excited to do that, but I think I want to work a little more. I’m tossing around the idea of making another record… We want it, and we’re excited for it but think it can wait a while longer… He is supportive of me. We both are excited to do that, but he knows I’m still young," she said.

Duff, who got her start on the Disney Channel's "Lizze McGuire" series, married Comrie on August 14, 2010.

Ryan Reynolds: 'The Change-Up' Star's Hottest Moments

Ryan Reynolds is no stranger to Hollywood these days. He’s changed bodies with Jason Bateman, fought to save the planet and even wooed Sandra Bullock on the big screen -- all without breaking so much as a sweat.

You’d think being named PEOPLE’s “Sexiest Man Alive,” last year would make this Hollywood hunk a little uncomfortable, but Reynolds said he just went with it.

"Well, there was a little moment of disbelief, and then you kind of settle into it. Really, you just have to go with the flow,” he said about the honor.

Earlier this year, Reynolds also opened up to Details about hitting his A-List stride.

"I'm really f**king lucky that I hit it late," he told the magazine. "None of this happened to me in my early twenties, so I didn't configure myself at an early age in the audience's mind as one guy."

In his latest summer flick, Reynolds switches lives -- and bodies -- with Jason Bateman for a “Freaky Friday”-esque, R-rated romp in "The Change-Up."

"I don't think there's any point in making it any other way," Reynolds told HitFix about the raunchy film's rating. "The R rating is the reason that I'm here. [We] do all the things you wish you could have seen in those other movies.”

We don't know about you, but we can't get enough of this Hollywood hunk, so we put together some of our favorite -- and, of course, hottest -- Reynolds moments. Check out the slideshow below!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/07/ryan-reynolds-because-hes-hot_n_920517.html

Shakira's Very Surprising Secret Talent

Shakira Golfs: Colombian Singer Has Game

As Chubbs would repeat to Happy Gilmore, "It's all in the hips." And while, presumably, she didn't have a tragically one-handed former pro for an instructor, Shakira's hips definitely do not lie.

The Colombian popstar has a great many skills, the most prominent of which, of course, is her powerhouse voice that belts out tunes in a multitude of different languages. And while her patented belly dancing techniques prove that she has ample physical prowess, it may surprise the casual fan that she's an ace golfer, too.

Is there anything she can't do?

In the video below, part of blog keeping track of her current tour, we get a glimpse of Shakira's day out on the course in Mexico, where she shows off both her solid short game and picture-perfect swing. She's actually been honing it for years, having spoken back in 2009 about her knack for the game.

“I love golf,” she said (via ShowBizSpy.com). “I’m really bad at sports, believe it or not. If you threw a ball at me, you would probably break my face because I have no reflexes whatsoever. But in golf, you just need concentration, of which I have plenty, and hip swing is very important.”

Tiger Woods, meet She-Wolf.

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Big Boi Arrested On Drug Charges In Miami

Big Boi Arrested On Drug Charges In Miami: OutKast Rapper Had Ecstasy, Viagra

MIAMI — Grammy-winning OutKast rapper Big Boi has been arrested in Miami on charges of illegally possessing drugs including ecstasy and Viagra pills.

The rapper, whose real name is Antwan Patton, was charged with three counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia on Sunday. According to the Miami-Dade County Corrections website, the 36-year-old Patton was also carrying MDMA, which is the main ingredient in Ecstasy.

The rapper was booked around 1:30 p.m. on $16,000 bond.

Phone and email messages were left for Big Boi's publicists.

Big Boi is best known as half of the groundbreaking rap duo OutKast, which includes Andre 3000. The Atlanta-based group won six Grammys and churned out six platinum-plus albums, including "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below," which sold over 10 million copies.

Emma Stone: Hollywood's New Favorite

Emma Stone: Hollywood's New Favorite
By Emma Koonse

Emma Stone is quickly becoming the most in-demand actress in Hollywood, and this summer alone stars in three feature films.

Stone’s growing popularity is credited to her hit movie “Easy A” from earlier this year, and to this summer’s “Friends with Benefits,” “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” and “The Help,” in which she plays the lead role.

The 22-year-old remains untainted by her mounting fame, and told New York Metro, “What’s important is the people in your life – your family and friends, love you completely and entirely, that they’re always making fun of you and making you feel like a little bit of an idiot.”

In the upcoming super-hero flick “The Amazing Spider-Man,” Stone plays Gwen Stacy- the love interest of Andrew Garfield’s character, Peter Parker.

She admits having to extensively research her role in “Spider-Man,” telling NZCity News, “I didn’t know much about Spider-Man other than watching the first three movies and every Halloween spending time with the boys who were dressed up as him!”

About her co-star whom she is now reportedly dating, Stone says, “Andrew is one of the most giving actors I’ve ever worked with.” She claims that the 27-year-old actor helped her become a better actress while filming “Spider-Man.”

“If I needed to get to a place of love or sadness in a scene, he’d leave messages on my phone to replay, or slip lines off camera for a different reaction than what was scripted. He gave me so much to react to,” said Stone

In her interview with Teen Vogue the starlet also revealed that her aspirations go beyond acting. “I have dreams of being a producer, being behind a camera, eating seven tacos for every mean, and making movies that affect people the way they affect me,” she said. “I don’t even need to be in them. I really like acting, but I feel like if a day came…”

Stone’s third movie of the summer, “The Help,” hits theaters on August 10th.

Vanessa Minnillo's Estranged Mom Didn't Know She Was Getting Married

Vanessa Minnillo's Estranged Mom Didn't Know She Was Getting Married

Vanessa Minnillo's life might seem like a fairytale, but Starmagazine reports, it's not so perfect -- her own mother wasn't even at her recent wedding.

The magazine caught up with Minnillo's estranged mother Helen Bondoc, who abandoned her daughter more than 20 years ago. Bondoc told Star she didn't even know Vanessa was getting married.

“I didn't have a clue that Vanessa was getting married. I still think about her all the time, and I still love her dearly," she said.

Minnillo was only 9-years-old the last time she saw her mother. Bondoc dropped Vanessa and her adopted brother off at their father's house and told him to keep them.

Minnillo, an actress and TV personality, married former pop star and current host of NBC's "The Sing Off" Nick Lachey in July after five years of dating, and the two are already planning to start a family.

Lachey told E! Online that family is very important to the couple and he's sure kids will be around the corner.

Katy Perry Ties With Michael Jackson's Hits Record ... But Will She Beat It?

Katy Perry Ties With Michael Jackson's Hits Record ... But Will She Beat It?

Diva Katy Perry continues her reign, officially tying the Billboard Charts record with the Michael Jackson with her fifth No. 1 single to pop off her platinum-selling 'Teenage Dream' album. Previously, only Jackson yielded five chart-toppers off a single album, 'Bad.'

Clearly, the singer-turned-Smurfette is living the dream, raking in the mostMTV Video Music Award nominations this year and endlessly capturing the media's attention -- one sexy outfit and new hairdo at a time.

With her No. 1 video-assisted hits -- the teen bash-themed 'Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)', the Candyland adventure of 'California Gurls,' the alien-esque 'E.T.' and the pyrotechnic-breasted femme-power anthem 'Firework' -- the pop princess is not afraid to embrace her girlie side and outta-this-world ambitions.

Do you think Katy Perry will dethrone the King of Pop with another No. 1 hit?

Miley Cyrus Drops $4 Million On New California Home

Miley Cyrus Drops $4 Million On New California Home
By Ann Brenoff

Disney star and Queen of Teen Pop Miley Cyrus just bought herself a nifty 5,173-square-foot Studio City house, spending $3.9 million. Ah, to be young and rich and be able to move real estate around like chess pieces.

The mid-century style house that she just added to the collection was built in 1952 and occupies a lot of 1.15 acres -- all walled and gated. The home in the Los Angeles neighborhood is listed with five bedrooms and seven bathrooms, but that likely includes an attached guest suite. The main house has a large master suite with a sitting room and fireplace, a spa bathroom with steam shower, walk-in closets and a wall of windows that open to a view patio. Just don't expect to be able to see anything from the street. (But the video below offers a look inside.) 

There is a double-sided fireplace that connects the dining room and family room and sliding glass doors in the dining room that lead to a deck and covered patio.

Cyrus, who is all of 19 and best known for her role as the title character in the Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana," already owns a compound in nearby Toluca Lake, Calif., that she purchased in 2007 for about $5.8 million. She also reportedly bought and sold homes in Florida within the past year.

What recession?

Mariah Carey In A Swimsuit Post-Babies

Mariah Carey has debuted her post-babies swimsuit body on Twitter.

"Ocean work out! It's been a loooong time since I've been in the ocean(said like "OPEN"in cruise control)" she wrotewith the photo below.

Mariah gave birth to twins, Moroccan and Monroe, in April.

Jennifer Aniston & Justin Theroux In Hawaii

Jennifer Aniston & Justin Theroux In Hawaii

Jennifer Aniston and beau Justin Theroux landed in Hawaii for a romantic getaway Sunday and got right down to business by getting lei’d.

According to X17Online.com, the twosome arrived to the tropical paradise via private jet to enjoy some R & R.

The couple first made headlines this spring when they were spotted out together, and it looks like it’s full-steam ahead on the realtionship front.

According to reports, the couple is planning to move in together and are supposedly “pre-engaged.”

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Bradley Cooper To Replace Mark Wahlberg

Bradley Cooper In 'The Silver Linings Playbook': To Replace Mark Wahlberg

Some big Hollywood scheduling conflicts have Mark Wahlberg now looking for some silver linings.

Deadline reports that Wahlberg is leaving the starring role of "The Silver Linings Playbook," the big screen adaptation of the Matthew Quick Novel that was to be his reunion with "The Fighter" director David O. Russell. As it turns out, it's the schedule of his hand-chosen starlet love interest, Jennifer Lawrence, that is causing the exit; because she's in the middle of filming "The Hunger Games," production on this film had to be pushed back -- when Wahlberg will be busy shooting another film.

In his stead, it looks like Bradley Cooper will grab the role, as he's already in talks to sign on. He'd play a man who attempts suicide, goes to rehab and ends up living with his mother. According to Quick's website, he, "formulates a theory about silver linings: he believes his life is a movie produced by God, his mission is to become physically fit and emotionally supportive, and his happy ending will be the return of his estranged wife Nikki."

Lawrence will play the young woman who pursues him once he's back in New Jersey.

Few in Hollywood have had as good a year thus far as the handsome 36-year old; he opened his first solo vehicle, "Limitless," to the top of the box office in March, and his ensemble, "The Hangover, Part II," set a record for R-rated comedies at the box office in its first weekend. Thus far, it has made $563 million globally.

Currently, Cooper is in upstate New York shooting "The Place Beyond The Pines" with Ryan Gosling, and will later take on a motion capture version of "Paradise Lost," in which he'll play Lucifer.

Cooper is also in the midst of writing a full script for a big screen adaptation for the "Hyperion" novels.

As for Wahlberg, he's got plenty of other films on his plate; he just finished wrapping up workon the Seth MacFarlane comedy, "Ted," with Mila Kunis, and is readying to star in a Thanksgiving-themed laugher with Will Ferrell. He's got a buddy action comedy with Jonah Hill, "Good Time Gang," in pre-production; he's rumored to star in "Billy Jack,", as well as thatsequel to "The Fighter."

There's also the matter of the film in which he'll star instead of "Silver Linings"; for that information, and much more, including word of a major acting legend also joining the cast, 

click over to Deadline.

'The Dark Knight Rises' Set Photo Spoilers: Batman, Bane Battle

As the nation gears up for next summer's final, epic chapter in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, Pittsburgh is getting a sneak preview of all the action.

The stand-in for Gotham (replacing Chicago in Nolan's first two films), the Steel City is hosting a large chunk of the production for the film, including some battle scenes that were shot over the weekend. Taking place at Carnegie Mellon University, the heroes and villains were out in full force -- and so were the paparazzi, providing scintillating photos that tease and sometimes spoil some of the plot.

We seen Christian Bale, as Batman, taking on Tom Hardy's Bane, the masked man in the jacket. He's an inmate at Arkham Asylum before busting out and taking the other prisoners with him, as shown in another photo. Also pictured are Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as Gotham special assignment cop John Blake, and Marion Cotillard as Bruce Wayne employee Miranda Tate. Not pictured are Anne Hathaway as Catwoman or Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon.

Bane is supposed to be super-sized, which he certainly is not in the photo; perhaps CGI will give him the mass needed to break Batman's back, as he does in the storyline for the film.

We also get a first look at Batman's Batmobile tumbler, including video of three of them being driven in the streets, as well as zoomed out video of a gigantic battle scene.

To see the film's teaser trailer, click here.

Al Pacino's Daughter Arrested In New York

Al Pacino's Daughter Arrested In New York

NEW YORK -- The 21-year-old daughter of actor Al Pacino has been arrested on a drunken driving charge in New York City.

Police say Julie Pacino was stopped at a traffic checkpoint on West Houston (HOW'-ston) Street in Manhattan at 1:05 a.m. Saturday.

Police say Pacino's blood-alcohol level was over the legal limit for driving. Her exact blood-alcohol level was not immediately available.

Pacino is being held at the Manhattan Detention Complex pending arraignment. No information on an attorney was immediately available.

Julie Pacino is Al Pacino's daughter with acting coach Jan Tarrant. An agent for the actor didn't immediately return an email seeking comment.

Julie Pacino graduated from Tappan Zee High School in suburban Rockland County in 2007 and went on to the University of California at Los Angeles. She was a softball standout at both schools.