Ellen DeGeneres tenure at American Idol turned out to be a short one. 

Apparently, the talk show host and comedienne never felt comfortable at Fox’s flagship karaoke contest and her rumoured feud with Simon Cowell (they hated each other) didn’t help.  Ellen and her reps supposedly went to the network brass and asked to be let out of her contract one year early, saying she wasn’t happy and “it’s not been fun”.  Yikes.

In a statement posted on her website, Ellen wrote, “A couple months ago, I let FOX and the “American Idol” producers know that this didn’t feel like the right fit for me. I told them I wouldn’t leave them in a bind and that I would hold off on doing anything until they were able to figure out where they wanted to take the panel next. It was a difficult decision to make, but my work schedule became more than I bargained for. I also realized this season that while I love discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings. I loved the experience working on “Idol” and I am very grateful for the year I had. I am a huge fan of the show and will continue to be.”

There’s nothing wrong with hurting someone’s feelings if they hurt your ears first.  Just sayin’…

For their part, execs at Fox continue to be all smiles, saying how wonderful it was to work with Ellen, blah blah blah, “fortunate to work with”, blah blah, ”incredible spirit”, blah.

Meanwhile, Deadline Hollywood says that Jennifer Lopez has signed on to replace Ellen in a secret deal that was finalized earlier this week.  J-Lo could use the work and the money, seeing how her career hasn’t exactly been on an upwards trajectory lately.  So far this year, she’s been dropped by her record label and her latest movie, The Back-up Plan flopped.

No word if new producer Nigel Lythgoe plans on making “other” changes on American Idol (cough – Ryan Seacrest, Randy Jackson, Karla Diogardi – cough).  Rumour is that Nigel really wants Elton John to come in to replace Simon Cowell (whom he makes look like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm), but Elton supposedly wants too much money and has touring committments he can’t get out of.   Boo.

Stay tuned….

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Pure gold.

You knew given his narcissism and ego, it was only a matter of time before Kanye West, he of the ALL CAPS FORM OF WRITING joined Twitter.

Apparently, the stage rusher joined yesterday and it’s been one Tweet after another since.  Not sure if he’s hawking stuff on the social media network for money (although it wouldn’t surprise me).  Kanye’s new album drops this fall, so he’ll be using Twitter to help promote it.

Here are some instant Kanye classics.  May there be many more.

I specifically ordered persian rugs with cherub imagery!!! What do I have to do to get a simple persian rug with cherub imagery uuuuugh

Dating models I had to learn to like small dogs and cigarettes

awwwww man this is addictive I might get in trouble on here!!!!

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Music is a very subjective art form and everyone’s taste differs.  However, a group of pigeons apparently really don’t care for the group Kings of Leon sound at all.

Word is the birds were pooping on the band members so badly during a concert Friday night in St Louis, they had to stop three songs into their set.  This sort of thing would never have phased Ozzy Osbourne back in the day.  Just sayin’…

Kings of Leon promised that they’ll reschedule the concert for another time, while the pigeons hopefully move on to a bigger and even more deserving target (this would make my life if it happened to Justin Bieber).

Concert goers were overheard saying they thought the whole thing was “sh*tty”. 

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Out with one crazy trainwreck (Tila Tequila), in with another (Janice).

TMZ says the modeling agency owner, reality TV mainstay and Tyra Banks nemisis is supposedly joining Dr Drew and company to shake her alcoholism.

Dr Drew must be almost as crazy as Janice if he thinks he can have her there and escape completley unscathed.  Wonder who Janice will end up fighting with (hint: everybody) during the new season?

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OK, they didn’t actually say those words, but between the lines….

Marvel has thrown down the gauntlet regarding it’s upcoming Avengers movie which teams the characters Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Hulk, Nick Fury, Black Widow and several others by officially announcing that they won’t be calling on Edward Norton to reprise his role as Bruce Banner.

Norton caused a lot of headaches when he got into a well documented dispute with execs over the script and the movie’s direction.  Long story short: The notoriously difficult Norton refused to promote the film, the movie did OK at the box office, but was far from the huge draw Iron Man did (both were released the same summer).  Norton blamed the studio, the studio blamed him.

Rumour was floating around that Marvel was now going for a lesser known actor due to monetary reasons.  Then last night, the studio released a fairly blunt statement (by Hollywood standards) clarifying their position.   

“We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in The Avengers. Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. The Avengers demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble, as evidenced by Robert, Chris H, Chris E, Sam, Scarlett, and all of our talented casts. We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks.”

Oh, snap.

No word from Edward Norton or his spokesminions over the jab (honest as it may be).  Of course, people are already lining up to take sides, some saying Marvel is out of line while others are saying this is simply karma.

Wonder what Eric Bana’s doing?  He originated the role in Ang Lee’s boring existential version of The Hulk several years ago, and made a great Bruce Banner.

UPDATE – Norton’s agent has responded to Marvel’s statement and predictably isn’t pleased with what he (and obviously his client) deems as a personal attack, not to mention the lost commission on a potentially huge paycheck.

“This offensive statement from Kevin Feige at Marvel is a purposefully misleading, inappropriate attempt to paint our client in a negative light.  Here are the facts:  two months ago, Kevin called me and said he wanted Edward to reprise the role of Bruce Banner in The Avengers.  He told me it would be his fantasy to bring Edward on stage with the rest of the cast at ComiCon and make it the event of the convention.  When I said that Edward was definitely open to this idea, Kevin was very excited and we agreed that Edward should meet with Joss Whedon to discuss the project.  Edward and Joss had a very good meeting (confirmed by Feige to me) at which Edward said he was enthusiastic at the prospect of being a part of the ensemble cast.  Marvel subsequently made him a financial offer to be in the film and both sides started negotiating in good faith.  This past Wednesday, after several weeks of civil, uncontentious discussions, but before we had come to terms on a deal, a representative from Marvel called to say they had decided to go in another direction with the part.  This seemed to us to be a financial decision but, whatever the case, it is completely their prerogative, and we accepted their decision with no hard feelings.

We know a lot of fans have voiced their public disappointment with this result, but this is no excuse for Feige’s mean spirited, accusatory comments.  Counter to what Kevin implies here, Edward was looking forward to the opportunity to work with Joss and the other actors in the Avengers cast, many of whom are personal friends of his.  Feige’s statement is unprofessional, disingenuous and clearly defamatory.  Mr. Norton talent, tireless work ethic and professional integrity deserve more respect, and so do Marvel’s fans.

Brian Swardstrom
WME”

Oh, whaaaaaa! 

Another problem with Edward Norton is (allegedly) he has to be the only star on the set.  Normally this would be a problem on almost any production, but it becomes an out and out impossibility when dealing with an ensemble cast that includes Robert Downy Jr, Scarlet Johansen and Samuel L. Jackson.

If Eric Bana is unavailable may I suggest Adiran Brody?  As the newly released Predators has just proved, he looks great half naked.

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The bride wore white (who’s kidding who?) at her wedding to NFL player Kyle Boller this past Friday.

About a year ago, Carrie famously said she didn’t support gay marriage during a Q&A session at a beauty pageant, which may or may not have helped cost her the crown (she believes it did).

After that, it was all downhill for her.  Carrie got fired by Donald Trump for being a raging bitch to everyone on his staff but him, and subsequent petulant, hypocritical, and increasingly paranoid behavior from the beauty queen made her the butt of jokes. 

Lawsuits, sex tapes, and disastrous appearances on talk shows (Live with Larry King, The View) to shill her quickie tell all book (which blamed the liberal media for her downfall) as the summer progressed just added to the spectacular trainwreck.

As for her marriage, I give it about three years.

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Naomi Campbell seems to be missing something (besides a nice personality).

Apparently, the mal-tempered model, who has buzzed hair underneath all those weaves and wigs she’s so found of, is actually going bald in spots because of all the glue, threading, and what-not they use to attach the various hair pieces to her head.

A Tricholigist who examined the photos of Naomi for the The Daily Mail (because this is such a monumental news story) says that Britney Spears and Victoria Beckham also had the same thing happen to them.

Can’t you just see Naomi beating the stylist with a hairbrush when she first noticed she had less hair than when she started when her weave was removed?

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Beware services from “celebrity” (insert name of service here).  You don’t get anything more than going to a non-celebrity offering the same service, except maybe the size of your bill.

 TMZ is saying “Celebrity” dog groomer and veterinarian Cindy Bressler is suing Mariah Carey to the tune of $3o grand for failure to pay the outstanding balance of a $38 grand bill for taking care of Mimi’s three dogs while she was busy promoting Precious last year.

No word yet why Mimi hasn’t paid the rest of the bill.   Maybe the dogs were supposed to have some work done, but came back looking just the same as when they were dropped off, or Mimi is trying to work with a budget (she should lower husband Nick Cannon’s allowance, if that’s the case).

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Calista Flockheat (Ali McBeal, Brothers & Sisters) 45, and Harrison Ford (Star Wars, Indiana Jones) 67 made it official this Tuesday and got hitched in New Mexico after 9 years together.

Harrison’s currently in NM filming a movie called Cowboys & Aliens.  That title alone guarantees I’m going to go see it.

The pair met at the Golden Globes in 2002 and got engaged last year.  Callista’s nine year old son Liam was there, as was the Governor of the state and his wife (their friends of the family) who acted as witnesses.  This is Callista’s first marriage, and Harrison’s third. 

Guess after nine years they figured why not?  That’s about as good as a test run as your ever going to get.

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More deets are coming out about January Jones’ car crash last night where she left the scene because of the paps.

Word is January met Bobby Flay while watching the game and got his number to give to her designer as she’s remodeling her kitchen.  After January left the hotel and had her car accident where she hit the three parked cars, she called Bobby and he came to see if she was all right.  Bobby claims he doesn’t know why she called him (sure he doesn’t).  Apparently, it was his idea for her to leave the scene of the accident, so January gave her license to one of the witnesses and took off.

When January came back less than an hour later, she had changed her clothes and was chewing gum.  Another witness says that they didn’t see any paps around after the crash and that they smelt booze on January’s breath before she took off, but Bobby says as far as he knows, she only had one beer at the hotel bar where they were watching the Lakers game.  Police told witnesses at the scene that a sobriety test would be useless since January could have had a drink at home to calm her nerves. 

If you were giving your computer monitor the cut eye while reading this story, you should have seen me while writing it.  However, the police seem to be buying it.  Nicely played.

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