In addition to Lopez, Seacrest and Longoria (Desperate Housewives), Zac Brown, Ricky Martin, Clay Matthews, Matthew Morrison, Jason Segel, Will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas), and Keith Urban have been added as presenters.

The 53rd Yearly Grammy Awards, that includes  performances from Dr. Dre, Eminem, Usher, Justin Bieber, Drake, Lady Antebellum, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Jennifer Hudson,Christina Aguilera, Yolanda Adams, Arcade Fire, Mick Jagger, Raphael Saadiq, Martina McBride, Katy Perry, Miranda Lambert, Barbra Streisand and others will air Sunday, February 13 on CBS.

Jennifer Lopez, Seacrest, Longoria are among the presenters for 2011 Grammy Awards

Published: January 3, 2012 9:08 PM By ANDY EDELSTEIN  andy.edelstein@newsday.com

Anne Hathaway hits the big 3-0, Tom Cruise turns 50 and Barbra Streisand will blow out 70 candles this year. Those three are among the celebrities marking milestone birthdays this year:Turning 20

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2012 brings milestone birthdays to stars

During an interview, the actor Harrison Ford was asked If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say to you when you reach the pearly gates? Harrison Ford replied You're much better-looking in person. Inside the Actors Studio, Harrison Ford was interviewed by James Lipton

I watch a TV series called Inside the Actor's Studio hosted by James Lipton. Since its premiere in 1994, Lipton has interviewed over 200 guests including just about any actor you can think of including Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Cate Blanchett, Paul Newman, Halle Berry, Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand, Samuel L Jackson, Ben Stiller and Harrison Ford.

Lipton explains the show's humble beginnings like this, 'At a point and time, I had three lives. I was the dean of the Actors Studio, the writer of the series, its host and executive producer. I maintained a preposterous sixteen hour schedule'. Inside the Actors Studio is now broadcast in 125 countries around the world reaching 89,000,000 homes. From tiny seeds grow mighty trees.

The New York Times sums up the enduring appeal of the show like this, 'In Mr. Lipton's guest chair, actors cease being stars for a while and become artists and teachers.' Each of the hour long interviews with a chosen actor or director is guided by Lipton's trademark index-card questions. Lipton is known known for his impeccably well researched knowledge of each guest's life, often startling some. On one such occasion, Billy Crystal told Lipton, You know you're scary, don't you?

Watching the show is almost like watching the fabric of someone's life unwoven – from where the person played as a child, to the influence of their parents, to what they would do on an average Saturday, to whether they finished college, to their failures and successes, chance meetings, hopes and dreams. Life flashing past.

At the end of the interview, Lipton always asks his guests the same 10 questions using a questionnaire concept was originated by French television personality Bernard Pivot. These famous 10 questions are:

What is your favorite word?
What is your least favorite word?
What turns you on?
What turns you off?
What sound or noise do you love?
What sound or noise do you hate?
What is your favorite curse word?
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
What profession would you not like to do?

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? The last question always makes for interesting answers. Over the course of an hour, each guest has seen their life replayed, now they get to this final question. what would you like to hear God say? Robert Redford answered 'you are too early', Cameron Diaz replied 'nice ass' (ermmm.?), many guests including Tom Cruise would like to hear God say 'come on in, you did a good job'.

For many of the guests, the answer revolves around how they looked or what they achieved. I wonder though if God is actually more interested in who we are. Why not let me know what your 10 answers are and, what you would like to hear God say?

'You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you,' Psalm 139 v14-15, The Message.

The Rock Hall's "Women Who Rock" exhibit has brought attention to many female performers, from hard rockers Heart and Joan Jett ton disco queen Donna Summer.  But John Gorman, program director in the 1970s and 80s at WMMS, is most intrigued by the possibility that Laura Nyro will be in the class of 2012.“She wrote incredible songs.  Her music was recorded by other people, most notably the Fifth Dimension, had the biggest hits with her songs.  At a time when artists routinely put out a new album every year, her releases were very erratic.  So I can see, in a way, where she was looked at as left of center of most of the singer-songwriters.”Nyro counted Elton John, Elvis Costello, Todd Rundgren and Barbra Streisand among fans of her Tin Pan Alley-meets-the-Shirelles sound.  But in the early 70s, she went into semi-retirement, emerging every few years with a new, low-key project before her death in 1997.“Women Who Rock” are no doubt nervous about the frat-boy rap of the Beastie Boys, who Gorman tags as a maybe in this year’s class, and Guns 'n Roses, who were accused of being downright misogynistic in the 1980s.“Guns ‘n Roses deserves to be in. They definitely brought hard rock back to the mainstream.  They were at the right time, at the right place.  They were a hard rock band that had tremendous depth.  Unfortunately, they DID have an appetite for destruction, and they really lived the lifestyle.  (laughs) Probably a little too close to reality.”Guns 'n Roses' original drummer, Steven Adler, and second guitarist, Gilby Clarke, are both from Cleveland.  The group was one of the last heavy metal bands to cross over to Top 40 radio, before hip hip and alternative took over in the early 1990s.  Those genres are being represented more and more in the Rock Hall, as evidenced by this year's inclusion of Eric B. & Rakim and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.  Gorman likes their chances, but he's most enthused about an older group, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan.“Rufus evolved out of a band called the American Breed, who had a hit in the 60s with ‘Bend Me Shape Me.’  We did play Rufus early on in.  If you listen to the first couple of albums, it was basically a rock band doing funk.”As the acts from the late 1980s and 1990s become eligible for induction, Gorman sees the definition of "rock and roll" stretching well beyond the formula pioneered by Chuck Berry and the Rolling Stones.“Talking about rock and roll, it doesn't mean any one style of music, so I guess it becomes fair game.  It's funny because you do see names on this year's inductions and it's like, ‘Has it been that long?  They've been recording that long that they should be in the Rock Hall?"  But that's rock and roll, and I think that's a testament to rock and roll.  It's, for the most part, timeless music.”And that's borne out by the newest and oldest nominees this year.  The Cure's college radio sound hit big in the early 1990s, while bluesman Freddie King passed away in 1976.

WKSU News: Rock Hall likelies

Barbra Streisand wowed her fellow honorees and an audience of Hollywood insiders last night at the 18th annual celebration of the industry's leading ladies. Actresses such as Michelle Pfeiffer, Viola Davis, Evan Rachel Wood, Freida Pinto and Naomi Watts said before the ceremony at the Four Seasons Hotel that Streisand has inspired them, and the love fest continued throughout the private dinner.

Jennifer Aniston told the 69-year-old entertainer that she loved her, and Pinto said on stage that "sharing the same oxygen" as Streisand was an incredible birthday gift. The actress turns 27 today. "You're a legend not only in Hollywood but literally all over the world," the "Slumdog Millionaire" star told Streisand. "I can say that because I come from India." She said Streisand's song "Putting it Together" is "like a reality check that every girl that wants to get into this big entertainment industry needs to listen to."

Quinto describes coming out

NEW YORK – Actor Zachary Quinto says he feels a range of emotions after coming out in a recent New York magazine interview but most of all he's grateful for the kindness he's received since. "I feel so incredibly grateful to all of the people who've reached out to me directly or indirectly or just in spirit and I feel really, really like my entire future is laid out in a different way and it's thrilling and scary and overwhelming," said Quinto at the premiere of his film "Margin Call" last night in New York.

The 34-year-old looks forward to the day when saying you're gay "won't be hard" and won't matter.

"There've been people on this path who were much bigger trailblazers than me who did this at a time when it was even harder…and if me standing up and making some kind of acknowledgement and declaration helps that then I can't ask for anything more out of my life." Quinto is best known for playing Spock in the latest "Star Trek" movie and for the TV show "Heroes."

Today's birthdays

Singer-guitarist Chuck Berry is 85. Actress Dawn Wells is 73. Jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis is 50. R&B singer Ne-Yo is 32. Jazz musician Esperanza Spalding is 27. Actor Zac Efron is 24. Actor Tyler Posey is 20.

People: Big night for Streisand

As good as it gets … Laura Ziskin produced such hits as Pretty Woman, Spider-Man and To Die For. Photo: AP

Hollywood producer Laura Ziskin was one of the first generation of women – along with Sherry Lansing and Amy Pascal – to occupy positions of power in a male-dominated industry. She presided over the breakthrough films of Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts and Kevin Costner and demonstrated an aptitude for shaping commercial hits, such as the Spider-Man movies, alongside riskier projects.

Ziskin was born on March 3, 1950, in the San Fernando Valley and graduated in 1973 from the University of Southern California's school of cinematic arts. In 1976, she got her first movie credit, as assistant to producer Jon Peters on the Barbra Streisand remake of A Star Is Born. Two years later, she was an associate producer on the psychological thriller Eyes of Laura Mars, starring Faye Dunaway.

Her producing career began in earnest in the mid-1980s on projects including two film noir remakes – the suspenseful No Way Out (1987), starring Costner, and the enjoyably trashy D.O.A. (1988) with Meg Ryan.

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Ziskin had her first taste of global success as executive producer on Pretty Woman, the 1990 romantic comedy about a prostitute (Roberts) and her wealthy client (Richard Gere). The film grossed more than $450 million on a budget of $14 million but its success only demonstrated to Ziskin how out of touch much of the film industry still was.

"Every time a movie comes out that works for women, I get phone calls from the press that go something like this: 'Gee, is this a trend?"'

The invitation to lead Fox 2000 Pictures gave Ziskin a more grounded professional life than she had enjoyed as an independent producer. She was, she freely admitted, the beneficiary of a kind of positive discrimination but regarded this as beneficial to the film industry.

"My boss at Fox, Bill Mechanic, made a calculated business decision. He looked at the audience in demographic terms and recognised that more than half were women. [Fox] needed a little oestrogen."

Although she was executive producer on the multiple Oscar-winning romantic comedy As Good as It Gets (1997) at Sony, Ziskin devoted most of her time to bringing to the screen some of the less bankable projects on the Fox slate. Among these were The Thin Red Line (1998), which marked the return to directing of the elusive auteur Terrence Malick after a 20-year hiatus, and David Fincher's abrasive Fight Club (1999).

She resigned from Fox 2000 in late 1999 and secured a deal at Sony. There, she produced Spider-Man (2002), starring Tobey Maguire as the teenage superhero. At the same time, she was appointed the first woman to produce the Oscars telecast (a job she repeated in 2007). Under the direction of Sam Raimi, Spider-Man was a witty, imaginative blockbuster that generated a worldwide gross of more than $800 million and spawned two further instalments.

But while lucrative, the third movie in the series was considered to be overloaded with characters and incident. The drastic option of starting all over again was proposed to rejuvenate the franchise. At the time of her death, Ziskin was in the midst of producing this "reboot", The Amazing Spider-Man, starring Andrew Garfield in the lead.

Ziskin had several other projects in development, including a movie version of the stage play Enron, which George Clooney will produce, direct and possibly star in.

Since being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, Ziskin had largely devoted her life to raising money and awareness. These efforts had latterly been channelled through the organisation Stand Up to Cancer, of which Ziskin was a co-founder.

She is survived by her partner, the screenwriter Alvin Sargent, and daughter Julia.

Guardian News & Media

Film producer smashed glass ceiling

Pop star Beyonce has confirmed she'll lead the cast in Clint Eastwood's A Star Is Born remake.

The Halo hitmaker, who previously starred in Dreamgirls and Austin Powers: Gold Member, has been linked to the leading lady role for months and now she has ended the speculation by revealing she'll follow in the footsteps of Janet Gaynor, Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand for a fourth remake of the classic movie.

Making the announcement during her summer concert series performance on Good Morning America on Friday, she says, "Clint Eastwood? Can you believe that? I can't believe it still. When I met with him I was just in awe. I'm so, so honoured that he believes in me. And I can't wait to do this film.

"I represent this generation's talent and for me to be the chosen person, as an African American woman, is incredible."

Russell Crowe is in talks to co-star.

CANOE — JAM! Music: Beyonce to star in Eastwood film

The incomparable Barbra Streisand and devastatingly handsome Robert Redford together again. Oprah worked her magic, and after 37 years “the way We Were” co-stars are reunited for an afternoon of reminiscing. If you have never had the chance to watch the 1973 romantic/drama “the way We Were”, than you can hardly understand how exciting it was to watch Streisand and Redford share an embrace once more. the chemistry shared between the duo was so palpable in the box office hit, that their on-screen love affair created an unforgettable movie.

Barbra Streisand was delightfully surprise when leading man Robert Redford walked out on stage after she finished singing the romantic theme song from their movie. the pair shared a warm embrace, which drew a resounding applause from their audience.

When asked why the pair had never done an interview together, Robert Redford jokingly replied, “because I never thought I would get a word in.”

Streisand laughingly responded, “true.”

The pair sat down to discuss the history behind the making of the film, and Redford admitted that he had initially turned it down several times. Redford said, “I thought it was a good script. I thought it was great for Barbra, but the character (Hubble) in the initial script was, I felt, one-dimensional.” He added, “He seemed like a model for her to fall in love with, but I didn’t believe he had a flaw. If he had a flaw that might be more interesting.”

Streisand loved the script from the beginning, and said, “I wanted him (Redford) for that part so badly. I was hoping and praying, but it didn’t look good. But, while in Africa, she received a surprise telegram that read “Streisand/Redford,” and she knew he had finally signed on.

Redford talked about his fondest memories of making the film, “I remember the fun that we had. I remember liking her (Streisand) energy, and her spirit. she was fun to kid.”

And the rest is history! If you haven’t had the opportunity to view this unforgettable love story … rent it. You will not be disappointed. Did you watch Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford on Oprah?  enjoy watching the music video of "The way We were."

First timer Gabourey Sidibe has been nominated by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for an Oscar in the Best Actress category for the film Precious: Based on the Novel Push, which received six nominations.

The film's other nods are for: Best Supporting Actress (Monique); Best Director (Lee Daniels); Best Picture; Best Adapted Screenplay; and, Best Achievement in Film Editing.

"I'm very honored and grateful they recognized the performance, but we didn't do the project with the feeling of, 'This is going to get us an award,'" Monique said, after being informed of her nomination. "We did the project with the feeling of 'Oh my God, this will change lives.'" She portrays Mary Jones, the abusive mother in Precious.

Also in receiving a nomination for Best Director Lee Daniels has become the second African American to be nominated in that category; John Singleton was nominated for his directorial debut, Boyz In The Hood in 1992.

In receiving her nomination Gabourey Sidibe joins the ranks of legendary actresses Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross,Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Bette Midler, and Jennifer Hudson, to name a few, all of whom received Academy Award nominations for their screen debuts. Sidibe is up against Meryl Streep, Sandra Bullock, Helen Mirren, and Carey Mulligan for the Best Actress in a Leading Role Academy Award.

Since the film was released last November it has garnered numerous awards and nominations in which Monique won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Sidibe was also nominated in the Best Actress in a Leading Role-Drama category at both awards ceremonies, and the film itself was nominated in the Best Picture category at both the Golden Globes and The Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will be broadcast live on March 7, 2010.

Top Oscar Nod For Sidibe, Star Of Precious

It's Oscar time. Unfortunately – or perhaps fortunately – I haven't seen anywhere near all of the contenders. For that reason alone, I can't write an Oscar column. Throw in the fact that I think the Oscars are one of the most overhyped events in American life. They're almost as bad as the Grammys were when they still were around.

Wait, they still have those? really?

OK, well, the Oscars still are overrated.

but I do love movies, and I'm fascinated by what they say about American life. Of course, movies don't always reflect or articulate what moviegoers are thinking. often they merely express what Hollywood thinks Americans are thinking or what Hollywood thinks they should believe.

For instance, over the past decade, Hollywood unleashed a stream of high-profile films directly or indirectly about the war in Iraq. Nearly all of the polemical anti-war films bombed. Robert Redford & Co. were desperate to remake "Coming Home" and other anti-war films, but Americans weren't interested.

the few war movies that did well pretty much avoided the sort of preachy jeremiads you'd expect to hear at Susan Sarandon's book club. For instance, "The hurt Locker" – nominated for Best Picture – largely ignores the debate over the war and instead tells a gripping story about our troops' heroism. "The Kingdom," another war-on-terror movie, was a hit despite the best intentions of director Peter Berg, who wanted it to be a parable about the cycle of violence. It succeeded because it was a good action movie that depicted Americans as heroes.

It's a bit funny, then, to hear some people claim that "Avatar," with its cartoonish environmentalism and hackneyed attacks on the military and those evil corporations, is proof that Americans love serious left-wing preaching with their popcorn. "For years," writes Patrick Goldstein in the Los Angeles Times, "pundits and bloggers on the right have ceaselessly attacked liberal Hollywood for being out of touch with rank-and-file moviegoers, complaining that executives and filmmakers continue to make films that have precious little resonance with Middle America." the last laugh is on them, Goldstein cackles, because "Avatar" "totally turns this theory on its head."

I'm sure Goldstein's right. No doubt James Cameron could have made "Avatar" for $300 million less and still made a fortune. After all, audiences didn't need the 3-D digital magic, explosions, giant aliens or spectacular backdrops. All they wanted was an extended lecture about the evils of corporate America and the cruelty of the military, and some gassy pantheistic blather about the need to get back to nature. why, Cameron simply could have recorded a poetry jam at Barbra Streisand's house and still put out the highest-grossing film ever.

Goldstein's effort is a good example of how critics and historians want to impose significance on films that may not be there.

Early cold War movies from the 1950s rank pretty high as targets for film school vivisection. For decades, film historians have insisted that "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is a thinly veiled (and paranoid) allegory about Communist infiltration. the movie ends with the protagonist screaming directly into the camera: "They're here already! You're next! You're next!"

the funny thing is that the filmmakers never saw it as an allegory about anything. It's a good reminder that sometimes the best way to articulate a larger message is to not try to.

indeed, when Hollywood tries too hard, it usually comes out lame. the original "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951) was driven by a fear that the cold War would turn hot and mankind's propensity for violence would destroy the world. the 2008 remake with Keanu Reeves – playing yet another emotionally impaired, semistupid, quasirobot savior figure – was a predictably lame lecture about how humans (i.e., Americans) are bad stewards of the environment.

Since the end of the cold War, Hollywood has been in desperate pursuit of enemies. You'd have thought that 9/11 would have provided a great opportunity for Hollywood to find a worthy enemy. but it turned out moviemakers were more comfortable depicting Jihadi terrorists before 9/11 than after (rent "The Siege" and "Executive Decision" if you don't believe me). They've tried (and retried) aliens, drug kingpins, bad weather and the always-enjoyable zombies. but with a few exceptions, Hollywood still is most comfortable with the idea that the enemy really is us.

Goldberg : Hollywood has seen the enemy …

We’ve known for a while that Warner Bros has been looking to produce another remake of the classic, A Star is Born, and today a strange casting rumor has sprung up. according to The Los Angeles Times, Oscar winner Russell Crowe is up for the lead role as the has-been husband, a part that was last played by Kris Kristofferson.

According to their sources, Crowe is the front runner to star as a musician who falls in love with a younger singer, who schools, but eventually outshines him as an entertainer. The 45 year old Australian actor is said to be interested in the role that would have him flaunting his vocal range, which we assume isn’t a problem since he’s played in a band (but doesn’t every actor have a band, i.e. The Bacon Brothers).

The role of his wife will likely be played by Beyonce Knowles, who’s been long rumored to star in the film. if she’s cast she’ll be following in the footsteps of Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland. The three previous versions of A Star is Born have taken place in the film and music world, with the last one focusing on the latter. Nick Cassevetes (The Notebook) has entered talks to direct the film, but is still in the early stages of negotiations.

This would mark the return of Crowe in a more dramatic, less thrill-centric role. As for Beyonce, when will she expand beyond music on film? Obsessed was a nice stretch, but it seems like she’s falling back into old habits. No formal offers have been sent out by the studio, but when something does happen, we’ll let you know.

Do you think Crowe and Beyonce would make a good onscreen couple? Should they remake the film?

Russell Crowe Up for A Star Is Born?