As the Arab Spring resulted within the deaths of thousands and therefore the ousting of Middle jap leaders last year, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, disguised by a faux beard and accent, was filming his latest movie portraying a hated North African dictator.Was it sheer Hollywood happenstance, calculated irony or comic genius? His co-stars, as well as Sir Ben Kingsley assume the latter, and audiences will decide for themselves on Wednesday when "The Dictator," debuts in U.S. theaters.Cohen plays fictional General Aladeen, the dictator of a made-up North African country, Wadiya. he's an insecure and idiotic leader who kills for the slightest offenses, believes in discarding feminine babies and counted North Korea's Kim Jong-Il among his friends.The actor's complete of comedy is satire, and like his "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for build profit wonderful Nation of Kazakhstan" and "Bruno," "The Dictator" means that to shed light-weight on r...

A collection of costumes worn by the late Michael Jackson is going on a global tour starting next month ahead of an auction in Beverly Hills in December, Julien's Auctions said on Monday.The exhibit, to open in Santiago, Chile on Friday, will include one of the singer's signature crystal-covered gloves, a military-style jacket he wore for the Soul Train awards in 1989 and a silver spandex leotard Jackson wore during his Bad tour in 1987.A helmet wired with battery powered lights that Jackson wore for the 2001 special concert at New York's Madison Square Garden that marked his 30 years as a solo entertainer will also go on display.The 50-100 costumes to be exhibited were designed by Jackson's long-time Los Angeles-based collaborators Dennis Tompkins and Michael Bush, who spent 25 years creating his stage and personal clothes.The items were mostly gifted back to Tompkins and Bush by the singer, and many are signed by him, auctioneer Darren Julien said.The exhibit will open on Friday a...

Hollie Cavanagh was sent home from top-rated TV talent show American Idol on Thursday night after singing I Can't Make You Love Me a song choice that proved prophetic.Cavanagh closed out the show by performing Miley Cyrus' "The Climb," remaining composed while fellow contestant Joshua Ledet wept as she sang.Almost 70 million votes were cast to determine Thursday's outcome. Audience voting was based on performances on Wednesday night's episode during which contestants sang songs by artists from California, followed by songs they wished they had written.Cavanagh first belted out Faithfully by rock band Journey, and the show's judges marveled that she was hitting her stride. Panelist Randy Jackson said her rendition did him (Journey singer Steve Perry) proud.The judges, however, were less enthusiastic about her second selection, Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me.Jackson called it the wrong choice at the wrong time. Jennifer Lopez told her there was a little too mu...

Not a single fingerprint or scrap of DNA was found to prove who murdered three family members of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson in 2008, but prosecutors said there was overwhelming circumstantial evidence to convict her jealous brother-in-law as the jury began deliberations on Wednesday.Hudson, her head bowed at times when graphic photographs were shown to the jury, sat with family members in the Chicago courtroom.The defense attorney for accused killer William Balfour poked holes in the prosecution's mostly circumstantial case in her final statement and accused the police of concocting evidence to convict her client.They were trying to convict a pre-chosen defendant," defense attorney Amy Thompson told the Cook County Criminal Court jury in her closing statement following two weeks of testimony.The jury deliberated for five hours Wednesday night without a verdict, and were sequestered by Cook County Judge Charles Burns. Deliberations resume Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m....

The runaway success of The Avengers movie landed the crime-fighting Marvel superhero team a return date to theaters.Hot off the movie's record-setting debut, Walt Disney Co said on Tuesday an Avengers sequel is in the works, though no release date is set.The movie debuted with a staggering $207.4 million from U.S. and Canadian theaters over the weekend, the biggest debut in film history. Globally, the film has pulled in $702.2 million.The film unites Marvel superheroes including Iron Man, Black Widow, Thor and The Hulk in a battle against a villain out to destroy the Earth. Stars include Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson.The second "Avengers" movie will follow a previously announced Thor and Iron Man sequels coming in 2013 and a new "Captain America" movie in 2014, Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger told industry analysts.Eventually, a date to be determined, you'll see a sequel to Avengers Iger said.

The Avengers proved that five superheroes are better than one by bursting into Hollywood's record books with a massive $200.3 million in ticket sales over its opening weekend in U.S. and Canadian theaters, kicking off Hollywood's summer movie season with a bang.The domestic debut for the big-budget, effects-filled movie from Disney's Marvel studios sped past last summer's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - Part 2, which opened with $169.2 million in its first weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. In March, "The Hunger Games" opened with $152.5 million, the fourth largest opening in box office history.The Avengers, which reunites Marvel comic heroes Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk and Black Widow, has collected $641.8 million since it opened in international markets on April 25.We keep thinking we have a sense of what this movie can do, or will do, and every time we get a report it does even better," said Dave Hollis, Disney's executive vice-presid...

After rocketing to international fame with his bubbly pop track I'm Yours in 2008, singer Jason Mraz strapped on his cowboy boots and added a country flair to his fourth album, "Love Is A Four Letter Word.Mraz, 34, known for his laid-back folk-pop melodies, embraced a mantra of peaceful southern California beachside living for the record, which is currently in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 album chart.Mraz said his inspiration came from a piece of artwork, which features rectangles, circles, triangles and squares placed alongside each other to form the word 'love.If I can choose to see love in this image, then I could also choose to see love in someone else or the world around me or even in the mirror, and it was this 'Aha' moment that love is a choice that we make, and I wanted to explore that," Mraz said to Reuters.The set of songs featured on "Love Is A Four Letter Word" are positive, upbeat and nostalgic. They explore love in relationships, family, friendsh...

Mississippis Skylar Laine got the boot from TV singing competition American Idol on Thursday, leaving the show with a rousing performance of country singer Miranda Lambert's Gunpowder and Lead.Laine 18, who idolizes Lambert and aspires to be a country star herself, sang the song as fellow contestant Hollie Cavanagh, also among this week's bottom two singers wiped away tears knowing it was her friend's final number.On Wednesday's performance episode of the top-rated U.S. television show, judge Jennifer Lopez had praised Laine's energetic performance of Credence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son," and Randy Jackson exclaimed that she was "born to be on the stage.But the panelists' comments for Laine's rendition of "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me were not universal. While Lopez enjoyed the singer's spin on the Dusty Springfield classic, mentor Jimmy Iovine thought it was one of her weakest performances of the season.Still, Iovine had hoped Laine would remain in...

Scarlett Johansson first joined the Marvel comic book superhero universe when she was introduced as the mysterious Black Widow opposite Robert Downey Jr. in the 2010 blockbuster "Iron Man 2.The action-filled movie role marked a big change for the actress, who's known more for low-key performances in films like Sofia Coppola's drama Lost in Translation" or Woody Allen's sly comedy Vicky Cristina Barcelona.But Johansson is in fighting form to reprise her role as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, in Marvel Studios' "The Avengers," due in theaters Friday.With her bright red hair and latex suit, the Black Widow teams up with Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, Hawkeye and Thor to stop the evil Loki from conquering Earth with his army.Johansson sat down with Reuters to talk about the film, the fighting style she learned for her role and what it was like to master her character's native Russian language.

Q: Black Widow was introduc...

The Hunger Games and Bridesmaids will battle for the upcoming MTV Movie Awards as each landed eight nominations on Tuesday to edge out The Twilight Saga, which picked up only two nods for the widely-watched television program.Post-apocalyptic action film "The Hunger Games," which has stormed box offices with $600 million in ticket sales, earned nods for movie of the year and best cast. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth landed in the best actress, actor and breakthrough performance categories, respectively.Not to be outdone in the hunt for MTV's golden box of popcorn trophy, female-led comedy "Bridesmaids" picked up nominations for movie of the year and best cast, while the film's writer and star Kristen Wiig scored best actress and best comedic performance nods.Lawrence and Wiig will be up against Emma Stone, Emma Watson and Rooney Mara for best actress, while Hutcherson will be competing with Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Joseph Gordon-Le...