Robert Pattinson Almost Quit Acting For Music Career

Robert Pattinson came close to quitting acting in favour of pursuing his love of music, according the director of his new movie.

Oliver Irving says that the Twilight heartthrob considered a career change after playing Cedric Diggory in two Harry Potter movies because he wasn't being offered "challenging" roles.

But luckily along came Irving's independent film How To Be, which allowed Rob to showcase his acting rather than his good looks.

"He was thinking about giving up acting and maybe doing music solely when this role [in How To Be] came along," says Irving. "He wanted to play the roles he wasn't getting."

Bagging the lead role of Art, an awkward teen who hires a self-help guru to come live with him "got him back into the swing of things again," the director tells People.

As well as having hide his chiselled features under a dodgy haircut, Rob was required to tone down his musical talents while playing the guitar and the harmonica in the movie.

Says Irving: "He downplayed how good he was. A lot of the time he would turn out to have a really good technique and we told him he needed to play it more simply."

Avril Lavigne becomes Canadian Ambassador for 2010 World Expo

Avril Lavigne is all set to represent her native Canada by being an ambassador at China's World expo in 2010.

The singer, who was born in Ontario, is much famous in Asia and has even recorded portions of her hit songs in Mandarin.

By traveling to Shanghai, China to represent her home country, she will help bridge the gap between eastern and western cultures.

"On Friday (24Apr09), I was in Vancouver and honoured as the Canadian Ambassador for 2010 World Expo, Shanghai, China," Contactmusic quoted Lavigne, as stating on her MySpace blog.

"It's really exciting as it's the first time China has ever hosted World Expo and the theme is Better City, Better Life.

"It's really cool that over 200 countries and international organizations are coming together at World Expo, Shanghai to create a better future for the world. I've played two shows in Shanghai.

"It's a great city and I look forward to visiting again next year," Lavigne added.

Beyonce Knowles Feels Lucky and Scared Becoming Sasha and Malia Obama's Role Model

Being considered as a role model for First Daughters, Sasha and Malia Obama, Beyonce Knowles admits she feels lucky, yet scared due to the responsibility she has to carry on in relation with the honor. "She told me she was very happy that her girls have someone like me to look up to. And I'm like, 'Oh, my God'", says Beyonce when recalling the day she received a phone call from Michelle Obama to thank her for performing on her husband Barack Obama's presidential inauguration. 

"You have to feel fortunate to be one of the people whom parents don't mind their children looking up to. The older I get, the more I think about the amount of influence I have on these young girls, and it's scary sometimes," the actress-singer frankly expresses her feeling to the April issue of Vogue. "But I also understand how lucky I am to have that." 

Beyonce, furthermore, credits her family for keeping her grounded despite all the achievements she has reached throughout her years in music industry. "We all did this together," says the songstress, adding that she can't imagine having her career without them around. 

Speaking of her music mogul husband Jay-Z, Beyonce tells Vogue,"I definitely have learned to be a little more picky from Jay. Because if something makes a lot of sense to everyone else, if he doesn't feel it, he's like, 'I don't want to talk about it.' Which is great." 

Here is Oscar 2009 winners list:

Here is Oscar 2009 winners list:

BEST PICTURE: Slumdog Millionaire

BEST DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ACTOR: Sean Penn, Milk

BEST ACTRESS: Kate Winslet, The Reader

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Milk

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: A.R. Rahman and Gulzar — Jai Ho, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Wall-E

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Departures

BEST ART DIRECTION: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Slumdog Millionaire

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: The Duchess

BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY: Man on a Wire

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY: Smile Pinki

BEST EDITING: Slumdog Millionaire

BEST MAKEUP: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST ANIMATED SHORT: La Maison en Petits Cubes

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT: Spielzeugland (Toyland)

BEST SOUND EDITING: The Dark Knight

BEST SOUND MIXING: Slumdog Millionaire

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Store bids to begin work early on new extension

BOSSES at Sainsbury’s in Tadley want to start work on a new extension before drainage problems are sorted out.

The company is seeking to vary a condition of its planning permission that would allow it to start building on the understanding it does not open or operate the new space until the chronic problems are resolved.

Last year, managers working on behalf of the store in Mulfords Hill, Tadley, successfully applied to the planning authority – Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council – to build a single-storey extension, new entrances, three new retail units and extra parking spaces. The approved plan also includes relocating the recycling store and changing landscaping and access points.

The application was approved in December, but Sainsbury’s has now applied to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to vary a condition relating to the discharge of foul and surface water.

Andy Weaver, spokesman for Sainsbury’s, said: “The revised wording of condition 30 would allow Sainsbury’s to commence work on the construction of the store extension but, ensures that it would not be opened or operated prior to Thames Water undertaking improvements to the drainage system in Bowmonts Road, Tadley.”

He said the application follows consultation with Thames Water on the wording of the condition and added that Sainsbury’s is not in a position to estimate when extension work will begin or be completed.

In a letter attached to the application, Christopher Ofori, from developer services at Thames Water Utilities, said the “variation will be acceptable to Thames Water”.

Considering the application at Tadley Town Council’s highways and planning committee, town council chairman Councillor Avril Burdett said: “We still have concerns and don’t feel comfortable, but we will be guided by the professional opinion of Thames Water.”

Top 10 Celebrity Tirades

It's not that celeb freakouts are anything new. They were just under wraps. Fortunately for us -- if not for them -- YouTube has changed all that. Following, our favorite all-time star rants -- see where Christian Bale's Terminator falls!

10. Jack Nicholson Goes Golfing

In February 1994, some unwitting driver cut Jack off. Road rage! The Joker got out his clubs and smashed the guy's windshield. If the driver were smart, he saved the broken glass as priceless memorabilia.

9. Sean Penn on George W. Bush's blood-soiled underwear

Penn has sounded off on plenty of political issues, but his greatest rant was in prose. In March 2007, he wrote an open letter to the then president calling his administration the real evildoers. In the second paragraph he calls Bush's media supporters "those who bathe in the moisture of your soiled and bloodstained underwear," and it goes on from there!

8. Samuel L. Jackson refuses to work with rappers

Jackson probably wishes he never criticized rappers for taking jobs away from trained actors. Since July 2002, he's been so misquoted he's still re-explaining what he meant. He may work today with master thespians like Ice Cube and 50 Cent, but he sure did stick it to those chart toppers who just bounce into a movie doing their thing. "I know there's some young actor sitting in New York or L.A. learning how to act and sacrificing to learn his craft but isn't going to get his opportunity -- because of some actor who's been created," he said. "And you can use the word 'actor' loosely."

7. Britney Spears crying

Perhaps it was just a cry for help. In a November 2003 interview with Diane Sawyer, Brit broke down into a blubbering mess of tears over her breakup with Justin Timberlake. All the glitz, glamour and fame, she still hurt like a normal girl, not yet a woman.

6. Tom Cruise did the research

Lest anyone think he could recover some credibility from the couch jumping incident, in June 2005 Cruise chastised Matt Lauer for being glib about psychiatry. What did Lauer know with his documented medical sources? Cruise did the research. He DID THE RESEARCH so he knows there's no such thing as a chemical imbalance.

5. Bill O'Reilly on Inside Edition

Just last year, tape surfaced of the now famous Fox News Channel pundit in an outtake from his Inside Edition days. Recording a sign-off, he stumbled over the phrase "play us out" and got so angry, he screamed at the teleprompter writers they wrote it wrong. Take after take he just got redder and redder in the face, finally swearing, throwing pens and storming off the set.

4. Stephen Colbert Spoofing Bill O'Reilly

Since Colbert's satirical pundit is based on O'Reilly, he was quick to present his own embarrassing past clip. Faking footage from an old local newscast, and sporting an '80s moustache, Colbert didn't know how to say "I'm sorry, I was wrong" and ranted at the off-camera producers. Only in Colbert's version, it was a live broadcast that couldn't be saved in editing.

3. Lily Tomlin vs. David O. Russell

In March 2007, footage from between takes on the 2004 film I Heart Huckabees hit the 'net. Tomlin is so frustrated with Russell's constant minute changes (pick up the folder, take your legs off the table), she mouths off at the director. In one shot, Russell enters the frame, kicking, screaming and using the C word! A PA even ushers everyone off the set to avoid the crossfire. By the time they shoot Tomlin in a car, she unleashes the F-bombs on a car full of A-list costars.

2. Christian Bale on the set of Terminator Salvation

Bale only earns more badass street cred with this. Come on, what's a cinematographer doing walking through a shot on a big budget movie? Here you've got an intensely committed actor trying to make believe killer robots are real and the f***in DP ruins the f***in' shot! GET THE f*** OFF THE SET! Whew, sorry, got a little riled up there.

1. Alec Baldwin's voice mail

In a generation inspired by My Super Sweet 16, it's nice to see a parent still employ tough love. After a bitter custody battle, Baldwin doesn't appreciate how his 11-year-old daughter Ireland took their scheduled phone calls for granted. In April 2007, he left her a fuming message calling her a little pig, not to mention what he has to say about her mom. In a confrontation worthy of a movie supervillain, he declared, "You have insulted me for the last time!" So, what's a girl to do but release the voicemail to the press?

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12 singers stand out during 'American Idol' auditions

American Idol audition shows are like the NFL scouting combine: Both gauge raw talent and potential, but neither reliably predicts future success.

Though it's tempting to write off this crop based on some dull audition shows, all Idol needs is a dozen quality acts. Maybe just nine, since Vote for the Worst needs somebody to promote. And Season 8 has the makings of a solid, if not spectacular, class.

We've been shown almost 60 contestants good enough to get golden tickets. That's fewer than half the Hollywood lineup, so we may have yet to see some of this year's finalists.

These 12 have some momentum going into tonight's Hollywood rounds (Fox, 8 ET/PT):

1. Joanna Pacitti. At 23, she's an old pro. Carly Smithson and Michael Johns proved last season that experience can get you a long way — just maybe not all the way.

2. Lil Rounds. It's easy to project the best qualities of Fantasia and Jennifer Hudson onto the Memphis singer. But we haven't seen that much yet.

3. Danny Gokey. His wife died a month before his audition, making him sympathetic. His falsetto breaks in I Heard It Through the Grapevine suggest versatility, and he could have more surprises in store.

4. Brent Keith Smith. This Nashville Star castoff knows the drill and probably recognizes mistakes he made in that show.

5. Jorge Nuñez-Mendez.Idol has multiple Latin contestants with promise; Nuñez-Mendez may be the strongest.

6. Allison Iraheta.Idol viewers saw only five seconds of her, but this teen may be the best-known contestant to Hispanic viewers, having won Telemundo's Quinceañera competition in 2006.

7. Anoop Desai. He performed everything from Ozzy Osbourne to T-Pain with his college a cappella group, giving him useful tools for Idol.

8. Scott MacIntyre. The visually impaired, classically trained multi-instrumentalist may have the most extensive musical background.

9. Arianna Afsar. Afsar's pageant experience (Miss California's Outstanding Teen 2005) means she should know how to act onstage.

10. Adam Lambert. Those who have watched him on YouTube know Idol has yet to see the limits of his theatricality. If he can rein it in, a little of that can take him a long way.

11. Jackie Tohn. The actress/singer whose credits include The Nanny and The Sopranos impressed judges with her raspy tone.

12. Anne Marie Boskovich. Judges liked her but knew she needed to work on her presence.

Posh denies going under the knife

Victoria Beckham has sparked rumours of having had another boob job after her twin assets seemed to have been given a boost in

Victoria Beckham (Reuters Photo)

recent ads.

The former Spice Girl had followed in the steps of her hubby-soccer ace David Beckham by stripping for a series of saucy Giorgio Armani underwear ads.

The fashion icon was said to have worked hard on her body for 6 months to get the preferred look in the ad campaign.

And since the publication of the advert, Victoria has come under the scanner for her varying chest sizes over the years, reports News of the World .

Victoria, in 1999, had publicly denied that she shelled out 10,000 pounds to have her assets enhanced, saying: "I'm totally natural, except my nails and fake tan. I haven't had a boob job."

But according to High Court papers revealed in 2005, the designer had confessed having gone under the knife.

And now, while the mum-of three was speculated to have had the surgery, her rep laughed off the suggestion

Washington National Opera unveils 2009-10 season

Although dyed-in-the-Rhine types will still feel terribly disappointed that Washington National Opera had to shelve a complete production of Wagner’s Ring next season due to fiscal constraints, there are considerable attractions on the company’s 2009-2010 lineup. (That Ring has not been canceled outright, company officials hasten to reiterate, but merely postponed.)

The season, which WNO general director Placido Domingo describes as “a perfect balance” (some might call it a perfectly conservative balance), offers six staged productions, rather than the current seven, along with a Wagner opera in concert form and a concert of operatic excerpts.

First up in September is Rossini’s evergreen, The Barber of Seville. Making his company debut as Almaviva in this production will be the brilliant-toned tenor Lawrence Brownlee. The title role will be shared by Simone Alberghini and Marco Caria. Verdi’s sublime comedy Falstaff arrives in October. The title role has yet to be announced, but the cast includes Gordon Hawkins (Ford) and Nancy Maultsby (Dame Quickly).

Ariadne auf Naxos, the ingenious Richard Strauss opera, will be staged in late October/early November with a promising roster that includes Iréne Theorin (Ariadne), Kristine Jepson (Composer), Pär Lindskog and Ian Storey (alternating in the role of Bacchus).

Company music director Heinz Fricke, who will conduct Ariadne, will also be on the podium when WNO presents a concert version of Wagner’s Gotterdammerung in place of the originally slated staged production that would have rounded off the company’s ambitious Ring. Two performances in November will feature Theorin (Brünnhilde), Hawkins (Alberich), Storey (Siegfried) and Alan Held (Gunther).

WNO’s spring season opens in March 2010 with Gershwin’s iconic Porgy and Bess. Eric Owens and Lester Lynch will alternate as Porgy, Morenike Fadayomi (right) and Indira Mahajan as Bess. (Coincidentally, Porgy and Bess and The Barber of Seville are the two works that the Baltimore Opera won't be staging this spring, having filed for Chapter 11, so Baltimore opera lovers can catch both of them in DC next season.)

In April/May 2010, Mozart’s enduring comedy, The Marriage of Figaro, will offer such singers as Ildar Abdrazakov (Figaro), Teddy Tahu Rhodes (Almaviva) and Krassimira Stoyanova (Countess).

The company will introduce Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet into its repertoire in May/June 2010, featuring Carlos Alvarez in the title role, Samuel Ramey as Claudius and Diana Damrau as Ophelia. Domingo will conduct this infrequently encountered opera. He’ll also conduct a concert in October with Abdrazakov and celebrated mezzo Olga Borodina (the two singers are husband and wife).

All performances are at the Kennddy Center. Season subscriptions for ’09-’10 are $300 to $2,100. Single tickets will go on sale this summer.

An addition to WNO’s current season has also been announced: Domingo will sing a program called “From My Latin Soul,” featuring tangos, excerpts from zarzuelas and more. This concert, with the WNO Orchestra, will be on May 1 (2009) at DAR Constitution Hall.