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ASHTON KUTCHER is to use the upcoming Sundance Film Festival in Utah as the backdrop for a zany new online game show.
The Punk’d star/creator and Digg website founder Kevin Rose will pit "social media mavens" against each other in a range of crazy challenges - and the contests will be aired as part of a 24 Hours @ Sundance online stream.
One challenge will reportedly feature four popular bloggers trying to make the longest call to Austria with a borrowed cellphone.
Kutcher, who is also in Sundance to promote new movie Spread, says, "It really is the birth of a new kind of reality television - a game-reality-news show.
"The contestants will have to engage their online communities to help them navigate the roads of Kevin’s and Ashton’s crazy challenges." The Sundance Film Festival begins on Thursday (15Jan09).

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Long-running Las Vegas topless revue LES FOLIES BERGERE is to close after almost 50 years of titillation.
Tropicana hotel-casino bosses have announced the curtain will come down on the colourful show at the end of March (09).
The French import opened at the Tropicana in 1959 when broadcaster Barbara Walters’ father Lou was the casino’s entertainment director.
Tropicana President Ron Thacker says, "(We are) extremely proud to have been part of such an iconic Las Vegas production."

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Former CHiPs star ERIK ESTRADA’s real-life cop exploits have paid off - he’s well on his way to becoming a U.S. federal marshall after joining an anti-internet porn task force in Virginia.
The former TV cop trained to become a real crimefighter for reality TV flop Armed & Dangerous - and when the 2006 show was cancelled, he stayed on as a lawman.
He is now a fully-trained police reserve officer in Muncie, Indiana, where the TV show was based, and his determination to become a real cop has impressed officials in Virginia.
Last year (08), Estrada was made a Deputy Sheriff in Bedford County, Virginia, and now he’s part of the Blueridge Thunder ICAP task force, which tackles internet crimes against children.
The actor’s spokeswoman Nancy Whittaker says, "All his plaques and awards from acting are slowly being replaced by law plaques.
"He has a badge from Muncie, a badge from Bedford and he’ll work to become a U.S. federal marshall. He’s very passionate about this."

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Lesbian TV drama THE L WORD is set for a prison-based spin-off, featuring former Bond girl FAMKE JANSSEN.
The final season of the show premieres this weekend (18Jan09), but producers are already planning a follow-up show.
Robert Greenblatt, the entertainment president of U.S. cable channel Showtime - which airs the show - says, "We have been mysterious about the concept, but one of the characters from The L Word actually goes to prison. The show then goes to prison with a largely new cast." The spin-off will star The L Word actress Leisha Hailey, and the pilot of the new show will feature Janssen, Frozen River star Melissa Leo and Laurie Metcalf.
Greenblatt would not confirm if the three big names would be part of the new show past the pilot.

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U.S. TV presenter/comedian HOWIE MANDEL’s recent heart scare left him "terrified" for his life.
The 52-year-old Deal Or No Deal host was treated for an irregular heartbeat after collapsing on Monday (12Jan09) in a Toronto, Canada, hotel lobby. He is now back at home and reflecting on the experience.
Mandel tells U.S. TV news show Access Hollywood, "They put you totally out, and they take those defibrillators, and they yell ‘Clear!’" But he has learned he didn’t suffer a heart attack: "The doctors said my heart is strong, and I did not have an attack.
"I was terrified because I try to stay healthy, I work out, I eat well. To be in a public lobby of a hotel and start to feel dizzy and then have no memory after that - and to wake up in an ambulance - is terrifying."

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HAIRSPRAY star AMANDA BYNES has ended her romance with baseball player DOUG REINHART, according to U.S. reports.
The news comes just days after the sportsman assured the media the couple was still an item, but sources tell UsMagazine.com the pair has split after dating for almost a year.
Reinhart and Bynes spent Christmas together and then vacationed in the Bahamas.
But a source tells the publication, "She ended it. She had had enough."

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LADY GAGA is still dancing at the top of the U.S. pop charts, scoring a second week at number one.
Her Just Dance hit took 22 weeks to get to the top of the charts last week and now it’s staying there, keeping Beyonce’s Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) at two.
But Beyonce isn’t grumbling - her tune scores a ninth week atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs countdown and moves to number one on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.
Kanye West’s Heartless jumps up to three on the Billboard Hot 100, while T.I.’s Live Your Life and Love Story by Taylor Swift round out the new top five.
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus score the week’s highest debut - Pen & Paper enters the chart at 75.

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The Los Angeles indie music radio station where SEX PISTOLS star STEVE JONES and HENRY ROLLINS work as presenters has gone off air.
Indie 103.1 will no longer operate on the FM dial, and instead exist solely as an internet station.
A statement that appeared on the Indie 103.1 website on Thursday morning (15Jan09) read, "Because of changes in the radio industry and the way radio audiences are measured, stations in this market are being forced to play too much Britney, Puffy and alternative music that is neither new nor cutting edge.
"Due to these challenges, Indie 103.1 was recently faced with only one option: to play the corporate radio game. We have decided not to play that game any longer. Rather than changing the sound, spirit and soul of what has made Indie 103.1 great, Indie, 103.1 will bid farewell to the terrestrial airwaves and take an alternative course." The station first hit the air in December 2003. Rolling Stone magazine recently named 103.1 America’s best radio station.

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METALLICA star KIRK HAMMETT has written the foreword for a new biography about the band’s late bass player CLIFF BURTON.
Joel McIver’s new tome, To Live Is To Die: The Life And Death Of Metallica’s Cliff Burton, is the first book dedicated to Burton, who lost his life in a coach crash in Sweden on 27 September, 1986.
McIver tells Blabbermouth.net, "I’m deeply honoured that Kirk spoke to me for the Cliff Burton biography. We talked about the rollercoaster ride of Metallica’s early career, which he and Cliff experienced, from the time that both men joined the band in early 1983 until Cliff’s death three and a half years later.
"Kirk provided a perspective on that impact which couldn’t have come from anywhere else." McIver also interviewed Burton’s former bass teacher, Steve Doherty, his first guitar technician and various local rockers who performed with the bassist in bands from San Francisco and Oakland, California.
As well as Hammett’s foreword, there are also tributes from Opeth star Mikael Akerfeldt, Alex Webster from Cannibal Corpse and ex-Megadeth star Dave Ellefson.

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Rocker STEVEN TYLER has confirmed reports bandmate JOE PERRY is back in hospital undergoing another round of knee surgery.
Aerosmith have been forced to cancel a festival appearance in Venezuela next month (Feb09) after guitarist Perry fractured his knee during rehearsals.
Tyler tells WENN, "Playing Venezuela was my idea of a perfect way to start the New Year. But, having heard Joe had to revisit the hospital this month, the band are truly disappointed we can’t be in Caracas, and we hope to see everyone there soon." The surgery will correct unforeseen complications from a previous surgery on the same knee.
In March 2008, Perry underwent total knee replacement surgery - an operation he put off for two years so that he could fulfil the band’s live commitments.

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Former THE SMITHS rocker ANDY ROURKE has dashed fans’ hopes the band is planning a comeback - he has landed a new job as a music mogul.
The bassist has been named director of A&R (artists and repertoire) for U.S.
music marketing firm The Musicbox, where he’ll be responsible for spotting and nurturing new talent.
Rourke says, "I look forward to working with the team in finding and nurturing some talented newbies, taking them up level by level and helping them achieve their full potential as artists and professionals." The Smiths split in 1987 because of a rift between Rourke’s bandmates Morrissey and Johnny Marr. In recent years, Rourke has been embroiled in bitter court battles with his former bandmates over royalty payments.

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The musical line-up at the Super Bowl is complete with FAITH HILL joining JENNIFER HUDSON and BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND in Tampa, Florida.
Country queen Hill will sing America The Beautiful and Hudson will perform the U.S. National Anthem before the big game on 1 February (09).
The event will mark Hudson’s first public appearance since her mother, brother and nephew were shot dead last October (08).
As previously announced, Springsteen and the E Street Band will headline the Super Bowl half-time show.
Hill sang the National Anthem during the 2000 Super Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia.

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WILL SMITH knew his son JADEN would follow in his footsteps and become an actor - because he has a natural instinct for role play.
The Hancock star’s 10-year-old son is set to play the lead in the forthcoming movie remake of the Karate Kid and his father is sure the talented youngster will be perfect - because he is destined to be an actor.
Smith says, "He just naturally has a joy, a love, for people and for emotion so it’s the perfect combination to be an actor. He is so inspired to do it." The pair emulated their father-son relationship in 2006 movie The Pursuit Of Happyness - and Smith was astounded to see his son’s acting ability.
He adds, "The director of The Pursuit Of Happyness, the same as Seven Pounds, (Gabriele Muccino), he didn’t speak English too well so the direction would be mumbled: ‘Jayden… I need to… okay, action!’ "It worked, somehow. Jaden, he understands emotion, he’s really sensitive.
The business is a little scary for me with him."

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KATE WINSLET has banished the myth she is a pampered Hollywood star - because she only feels glamorous when attending red carpet events.
The British actress, who picked up two Golden Globe awards at the glitzy prizegiving on Sunday (11Jan09), doesn’t consider herself in the same league as her A-List contemporaries - branding her position as one of the movie industry’s leading ladies simply as a "hat that you wear".
And Winslet insists she doesn’t want the luxurious life film fans expect her to have - because her priority is to be a good mum to her two young children.
She tells In Style magazine, "I don’t feel like (a movie star) in my life at all, and I don’t particularly think I behave like one. I don’t have my own plane. I don’t have a chef or a trainer.
"To me, you’re a movie star only during the time when you’re at the Academy Awards or at an important glamorous event. It’s very much a hat that you wear, and as soon as the event’s over, that hat comes off. I’m back to being me and being Mummy, and that’s my priority." But Winslet admits she is susceptible to some of Hollywood’s perks.
She adds: "Literally, the one maybe celeb-y thing I do is the occasional facial. That is the only indulgent thing, where I just lie there and relax for an hour. You can’t answer the phone. You can’t get up and make soup. You’ve just got to lie there and have somebody make you feel nice."

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Oscar-winner WHOOPI GOLDBERG has paid tribute to late STAR TREK creator GENE RODDENBERRY - praising the TV legend for representing black people in his iconic sci-fi show.
Roddenberry, who died in 1991, hired African-American actress Nichelle Nichols a lead character in the original 1969 TV series, at a time when the black community wasn’t well represented in science-fiction programmes.
And Goldberg insists the legendary producer’s actions persuaded her to take on a role in the show’s successful spin-off, Star Trek: The Next Generation.
She says, "Other science-fiction movies you saw had no black people in them anywhere. Isn’t that something? I wanted to carry on that tradition. It wasn’t until I did Star Trek that people thought I could do sci-fi." And the star admits her dream job would be a permanent role in sci-fi movies.
She adds, "If I could be doing sci-fi and horror all the time I would be doing it. I have loved it since I was little. A good scare is great and I love the idea you can get people to feel things without having to show it to them."

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Actress BLAKE LIVELY is banking on her glitzy U.S. TV show GOSSIP GIRL to help her rebound from the global economic crisis - because the hit series serves as an escape from the world’s troubles.
Lively lives out a fantasy of a young, rich and beautiful blonde schooled in Manhattan’s exclusive Upper East Side, and insists the show can also help her fan base escape their own financial burdens.
And the 21-year-old is glad its writers have yet to tap into real-life money woes.
She tells Vogue magazine, "The writers created a show that people can watch after a long day and not have to stress and worry and feel the burdens of real life.
"In the show, we live in an alternate universe; it’s heightened reality, so I won’t think the writers would work that in."

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Italian fashion designer VALENTINO GARAVANI and his longtime business partner have been ordered to pay $39 million (£26.9 million) by Italian authorities for alleged tax evasion.
The style mogul and his longtime business partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, avoided declaring their income by moving Valentino’s residence outside of the country, according to Lazio, Italy tax office records.
Valentino allegedly relocated to London over 10 years ago - but authorities charge his business maintained operations in Italy, reports Women’s Wear Daily.
A spokesperson for the designer says he is "highly surprised by the position taken by the Italian authority" and "will take the appropriate action accordingly." The fine could reportedly lead to a criminal investigation if the sum goes unpaid.

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JACKASS star JOHNNY KNOXVILLE has been detained at Los Angeles airport for reportedly carrying a fake grenade in his bag.
The funnyman was arrested on Thursday (15Jan09) morning at LAX airport after security guards discovered a suspicious-looking item in his luggage.
When the object was found to be a banned replica weapon, Knoxville was detained, cited for carrying a "prohibited item" through an airport and released by police, according to TMZ.com.

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