Rosie O'Donnell is making her return to stand-up comedy at Club Skirts Presents The Dinah® April 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center, according to a press release.Event founder Mariah Hanson said, "I am beyond thrilled to have Rosie O'Donnell join our stellar entertainment line-up on our 20th anniversary." O'Donnell will join a slate of entertainers that includes legendary rap duo Salt-N-Pepa and pop singer Ke$ha. The event runs March 31-April 4; see www.TheDinah.com .
When the blockbuster film Avatar comes out on DVD, fans will be able to see an alien sex scene, according to an Ananova.com item. It features the giant blue avatar of U.S. Marine Jake Sully locking hair with love interest Neytiri. Director James Cameron said, "We had it in and we cut it out so that will be something for the special edition DVDif you want to see how they have sex."
Zelda Rubinstein, the tiny actress who became famous for her role as medium Tangina in Steven Spielberg's film Poltergeist, passed away Jan. 28 in Los Angeles at the age of 76, according to a release from AIDS Project Los Angeles. Besides being an actress, the 4'3" Rubinstein was a fierce early advocate for the AIDS community. In 1985, she created the character "Mother," promoting safer sex in print ads and live appearances throughout Los Angeles. She was also heavily involved in the promotion of the world's first AIDS Walk, launched in the same city that same year.
ABBA World, an interactive museum based on the wildly successful Swedish band, has opened in London, according to allheadlinenews.com . ABBA World features 25 rooms of music, footage and memorabilia, and even includes karaoke exhibits and "Perform with Abba," which makes it look as if visitors are performing alongside the actual group. ABBA members Björn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad appeared at the opening, and there are plans to open a second such museum in Australia.
There "Ugly" news in the world of television as ABC has decided not to renew Ugly Betty, according to the Los Angeles Times. However, executive producer Silvio Horta said the show's team will be able to send the series off in style since there are four episodes left to produce. Ugly Betty's ratings plummeted last season after being moved to Fridays, dropping from 8.1 million to 5.3 million viewers.
Comedian Andy Dick is in trouble with the law again. According to EW.com, Dick was arrested in West Virginia after allegedly grabbing a security guard's crotch and forcefully kissing a male patron at Rum Runners Bar in Huntington. Dick is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 2.
Film and TV star Glenn Close recently talked about playing lesbian Washington State National Guard colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer in 1995's Serving in Silence. According to PlanetOut.com, Close said that the TV film was "one of my favorite things I've ever done." She said it was "tragic" that Cammermeyer was discharged because of her sexual orientation, and added that kissing Judy Davis in the movie let Close know "what it really, really felt like to be attracted to my own gender."
Call it gone with the wind. According to US Magazine, singer Jessica Simpson had a very loud, flatulent moment during a business meeting. A source said, "Her mother [ Tina Simpson ] was there, and it prompted her to turn around and yell, 'Jessica!' The tension was extreme. No one knew what to say."
Steven Daigle, a gay rodeo champion who was on one season of CBS' Big Brother, has become a gay-porn star, TMZ.com has reported. Daigle has signed on to do a man-on-man-on-man sex tape with a company called C1R.com . Famed director Chi Chi LaRue reportedly approached Daigle with the idea. Daigle said, "I didn't expect my life to take this path, but when I was presented with the opportunity, I dove in headfirst ... literally."
Miramaxthe film company that came about in 1979 and was responsible for such movies as Sex, Lies and Videotape; The Crying Game; and Reservoir Dogshas been officially closed by Disney, according to Empire Online. Miramax was the brainchild of movie producers Harvey and Bob Weinstein. In 2005, the Weinsteins left the company and formed The Weinstein Company.
Actress Anne Hathaway was honored as Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Woman of the Yearand was kissed on the cheeks by two men in drag, according to E! Online. There were a ceremonial roast that included a skit that referenced Brokeback Mountain ( which Hathaway co-starred in ) as well as a parade in her honor around Harvard Square. The Man of the Year, Justin Timberlake, will be honored Feb. 5.
In India, the movie Dunno Y ... Na Jaane Kyun has stirred controversy months before its release because it supposedly will show Bollywood's first gay kiss, the Times Online reported. The film will star Kapil Sharma, an actor debuting as an aspiring gay model forced to "compromise his morals" to further his career. The promotional poster shows two half-nude young men in a passionate embrace.
A full-page ad denouncing Jamaican singer Buju Banton's Grammy nomination was in the Jan. 29 issue of Variety, courtesy of a coalition of gay-rights organizations, according to Advocate.com . The ad urged Grammy organizers to use the Jan. 31 show to criticize any type of music "that promotes or celebrates violence against any group of people." Bantoncurrently in a Florida jail on a drug chargeis responsible for the 1988 song "Boom Bye Bye," which calls for the killing of gay people.
The Situation, Snooki, J-Woww and the other regulars from the MTV hit series Jersey Shore are coming back for a second season, according to People.com . A statement from MTV read that the original cast will "escape the cold Northeast and find themselves in a new destination."