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Latino comedian GEORGE LOPEZ has set his sights on landing U.S. President BARACK OBAMA as a guest on his new late-night chat show - because he considers the American leader a friend.
Obama became the first U.S. President in office to grace a late night chat show when he joined Jay Leno for The Tonight Show in March (09) - and now Lopez is hoping he’ll agree to sit and talk with him when the comic launches Lopez Tonight this autumn (09).
The Beverly Hills Chihuahua star insists he’s already in with Obama and the interview will be a possibility the next time the President is in Los Angeles.
Lopez tells WENN, "I supported Barack Obama during his campaign and he called me at my house. He spoke to me, and he said that he needed the Latino vote.
"Barack called me three weeks ago, and we had a very lovely conversation, a little bit about the kids and a lot about Iran. He is a great guy and I can consider the 44th President of the United States a close friend of mine.
"I would say that if he came to Los Angeles again with Michelle and his mother-in-law, that I would like them to stop by. Barack Obama is of Kenyan descent, but he also has some Latino in him - he lives in a house that’s not his, that’s very Latino. His mother-in-law lives with him, helping him raise his two kids. He’s one of us.
"He’s a man for all people and, I would say that if they came to Los Angeles and didn’t come on this show, I would personally be offended."

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Married Hollywood stars SCARLETT JOHANSSON and RYAN REYNOLDS have shot down reports a blazing fight between the pair was to blame for the actor’s absence from California’s Comic-Con event at the weekend (24-26Jul09).
Fans of Reynolds expected the star to attend this year’s (09) convention in San Diego, California to promote upcoming comic book movie adaptation The Green Lantern.
But when the X-Men Origins: Wolverine actor was a no show, rumours began circulating online alleging he’d had a furious argument with Johansson, who did attend Comic-Con, prompting him to skip the event.
Representatives for the couple have dismissed the claims.
One tells People.com, "(The report) is completely untrue. Warner Brothers never planned to have Green Lantern as part of their panel at this year’s Comic-Con and Ryan is in Europe shooting a film." A source close to the couple adds, "Any reports of a fight are ridiculous."

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A mystery "friend" of MICHAEL JACKSON’s has agreed to pen a new introduction for the King of Pop’s 20-year-old memoir Moonwalk, which will be reissued in October (09).
Random House bosses have ordered a first print of 100,000 copies of the tome, which was originally acquired by Jackie Onassis, when she was the book editor at publishing house Double Day, and released in 1988.
The book deal was agreed last week (23Jul09), according to the Los Angeles Times newspaper, when the executors of Jackson’s estate filed papers suggesting that such business should be attended to quickly in order to capitalise on "the notoriety surrounding Michael Jackson’s unexpected death".
The book’s original editor, Shaye Areheart - who worked closely with Onassis - will oversee the reissue.
The Moonwalk revamp will be released simultaneously in America, Germany, France and the U.K.
A New York Times bestseller, the memoir was a tightly guarded secret project, code named Neil Armstrong, up until its 1988 release.

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MICHAEL JACKSON would ‘moonwalk’ into the wilderness surrounding his Neverland Ranch home, while high on prescription pills, according to the King of Pop’s one-time "drug runner".
Dwayne Swingler claims he’d pick up a bag of pills from an unofficial clinic in Santa Barbara, California four times a week - and deliver it direct to the doped-up pop superstar.
The personal assistant was so trusted by Jacko, he was entrusted with the running of his Neverland estate - and quickly became Jackson’s right-hand man.
The job came with a Bentley, designer suits and gifts, but also meant leading regular estate search parties for the missing star.
Swingler tells U.S. publication the Globe, "He was a zombie. He’d wander off up to half a mile away. I’d have to go find him and bring him back home.
"He was doped up 24 hours a day for so many years - it’s a miracle he survived as long as he did." Jackson died on 25 June (09) after suffering a cardiac arrest at his rented home in Los Angeles. Reports suggest the pop star suffered an overdose of anaesthetic drugs.

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KID ROCK has no intention of ever signing up for an account on Twitter.com, insisting the social networking site that has taken Hollywood by storm is "gay".
The All Summer Long hitmaker sees no point in celebrities blogging about their every move and thought online, and he admits he’s close to snapping at the next person who asks him about the popular site.
He tells Rolling Stone, "It’s gay. If one more person asks me if I have a Twitter, I’m going to tell them, ‘Twitter this s**t, motherf**ker.’ I don’t have anything to say, and what I have to say is not that relevant. Anything that is relevant, I’m going to bottle it up and then squeeze it onto a record somewhere."

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Oscar winner CHARLIZE THERON will campaign for women’s rights in the Middle East in her new movie FLORENCE OF ARABIA.
The actress has purchased the film rights to author Christopher Buckley’s literary satire of the same name, about a government employee who fights for equal rights after her friend is executed soon after marrying an Arabian prince.
Theron will develop the picture via her production company Denver and Delilah Films and take on the lead role, reports Daily Variety.

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Songwriter/producer RYAN TEDDER has fired back at KELLY CLARKSON over claims he duped the singer into reworking and "ripping off" BEYONCE’s hit HALO.
The Since U Been Gone hitmaker claims Tedder sent her the song that became Halo without telling her he’d already offered it to Beyonce.
As a result, the American Idol winner has been forced to defend her version, Already Gone, after receiving criticism for its similarity to Beyonce’s recent release.
To make matters worse, record company bosses at Sony Music have decided to release Clarkson’s ballad as her new single - prompting the singer to go public with her thoughts about OneRepublic star Tedder.
In an interview with a Canadian radio station earlier this week (beg27Jun09), upset Clarkson said, "No one’s gonna be sitting at home, thinking, ‘Man, Ryan Tedder gave Beyonce and Kelly the same track to write to.’ No, they’re just gonna be saying I ripped someone off. I called Ryan and said ‘I don’t understand. Why would you do that?’" And now Tedder, who co-wrote Leona Lewis’ megahit Bleeding Love, is breaking his silence over the controversy, admitting the American Idol winner’s comments are "hurtful and absurd".
He says, "Already Gone is one of the best songs I’ve written or produced since Bleeding Love and stands tall on its own merits apart from Halo.
"They are two entirely different songs conceptually, melodically and lyrically and I would never try to dupe an artist such as Kelly Clarkson or Beyonce into recording over the same musical track. The idea is both hurtful and absurd."

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MICHAEL JACKSON’s children formed a prayer circle with the King of Pop’s staff to hope for the best after medics were called to attend to the star’s lifeless body on the day he died.
Emergency services rushed to the Thriller hitmaker’s bedside on 25 June (09) after he suffered a cardiac arrest at his rented Los Angeles mansion.
The singer’s three children, Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and seven-year-old Prince Michael II, aka Blanket, faced an anxious wait for news on their father’s condition and spent the time with their nanny, housekeeper and the star’s personal chef, Kai Chase, praying for his wellbeing.
Chase recalls, "I walked into the hall and I saw the children there. The daughter was crying. I saw paramedics running up the stairs.
"We were all praying, ‘Help Mr. Jackson be OK.’ Then everyone was very quiet." Jackson was taken to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, aged 50.
The singer’s kids are now being looked after by their grandmother Katherine Jackson, who was granted temporary custody immediately after her son’s death.
The custody order will be reviewed by a judge on 3 August (09).

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British rockers ARCTIC MONKEYS have thrown down a challenge to their fans - giving them just five days to learn the lyrics to their new record.
The Fluorescent Adolescent hitmakers release their third album, Humbug, on Monday August 24 - and they want everyone who buys it to study the songs in time for a mass singalong during the band’s sets at the U.K.’s Leeds and Reading festivals the following Friday and Saturday.
Drummer Matt Helders tells rock magazine NME, "(The fans) have to study the album all week. Some of them go (to the festivals) on Thursday so they’ll only have three days to nail (learn) it.
"It will come out then and we’ll be there at the end of the week ready to test everyone: ‘Right guys, you’ve had five days to get a grip to nail it!’"

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Disney star DEMI LOVATO has bounded to the top of the U.S. album charts with her second album, HERE WE GO AGAIN.
The release is the fourth Disney Music Group album to hit the top of the Billboard 200 chart in the past year, behind hits by the Jonas Brothers, Rascal Flatts and Miley Cyrus.
But Lovato’s 108,000 first-week sales lag behind those of Michael Jackson’s 2003 hits album Number Ones, which sold 154,000 copies last week. The King of Pop’s compilation is ineligible for the mainstream countdown.
Meanwhile, Daughtry’s Leave This Town and Maxwell’s BLACKsummersnight both drop spots to two and three, respectively, on the new chart.
Jordin Sparks’ new release Battlefield debuts at seven.

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British rockers the KAISER CHIEFS have vowed to continue their U.S. tour after frontman RICKY WILSON suffered a broken rib during a show in New York.
The band was performing at the city’s Madison Square Garden venue on Tuesday night (28Jul09), when the singer jumped between the barrier and the stage, fell and broke a rib.
But, despite the diagnosis, the rockers have decided not to scrap the rest of their dates and the tour will continue as planned.
A statement from the group reads, "The rest of the shows will still go ahead as they criss-cross America - Ricky’s had treatment and decided the tour goes on." The tour ends with a slot on the Lollapalooza festival bill in Chicago, Illinois on 9 August (09).
It’s not the first time Wilson has injured himself on tour - in 2005, he broke his ankle during a concert in Seattle, Washington and then suffered ankle ligament damage while performing at the Austin City Limits festival in Austin, Texas in 2007.

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Disgraced music mogul PHIL SPECTOR is struggling to adapt to life in prison and is "not doing great," according to his representative.
The 69 year old was sentenced to 19 years to life behind bars in May (09) after he was found guilty of fatally shooting actress Lana Clarkson at his Alhambra, California home in 2003.
The producer is serving his time at California’s largest state prison, Corcoran, and his publicist, Hal Lifson, is worried about his client’s state of mind - because life inside has come as such a shock to Spector.
Lifson says, "He’s doing fair, at best, if not worse than fair. He’s not doing great. He’s in a horrible situation with virtually nothing to do all day. Phil Spector was always a highly productive, creative person and now he’s in a five by nine foot cell with no windows and maybe a half hour outside to walk around.
"It’s essentially solitary confinement. He doesn’t have computer access, he only recently got a little TV. It’s a terrible existence for a millionaire record producer who lived in mansions and most recently in a castle, a 35-room home.
"It’s a huge, huge change of life for Phil Spector and a devastating turn in his life." Spector is set to appeal his sentence in 2010. If that fails, Lifson insists Spector will take his case to the federal court of appeal in Washington, D.C.

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The world’s most famous panda is pregnant again.
Bai Yun, who resides at the San Diego Zoo in California is carrying one, maybe two, foetuses, according to her handlers.
The 17-year-old panda has given birth to four cubs since coming to the zoo from China. Zoo bosses expect the mum-to-be to go into labour next month (Aug09).

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Actress LESLIE MANN has taken aim at her online "nemesis" after a series of nasty remarks sent her reeling.
During an appearance on late night U.S. TV show Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday (28Jul09), the Knocked Up star decided to address the anonymous critics who regularly make her life a misery on website Bastardly-Hot-Or-Not.com.
Some fans have weighed in giving Mann, the wife of filmmaker Judd Apatow, the thumbs up as a hot star, but most have criticised her looks.
And one online sniper, who calls himself EvilSamurai recently suggested, "Baggable face, I wouldn’t do her." Taking the battle public, Mann took aim at the blogger on Kimmel’s show, stating, "I know you’re trying to act cool in front of all your internet friends… but I think that if I showed up on your doorstep you would do me."

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A memorial garden honouring murdered actress/writer ADRIENNE SHELLY is to be unveiled in New York next week (03Aug09).
Shelly was killed by a construction worker in November, 2006.
The garden, located in Abingdon Square Park at at 8th Avenue and 12th Street, faces the late actress’ office, where she was murdered.
Shelly’s widower Andy Ostroy says, "This has been a long but very satisfying journey to honour my late wife in the park she loved so much, across from the building in which she lived for many years, worked and died."

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Acclaimed circus troupe Cirque du Soleil is to take over the home of the Oscars - for a decade.
The eye-popping show, which features acrobats and circus performers defying gravity, has been a big hit in Las Vegas for years, with several spin-offs selling out in Sin City - and now the spectacular is to take over the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
Los Angeles City Council officials have agreed to consider handing over a $30 million (GBP20 million) loan to promoters hoping to secure the residency with Cirque du Soleil bosses.
Under a proposed loan agreement, TheatreDreams LA/CHI would promise to create over 850 jobs and stage the acrobatic show 368 times per year, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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DOLLY PARTON’s 9 TO 5 musical is to close on Broadway after a disappointing run in New York.
The show was a hit when it launched in Los Angeles earlier this year (09), but the success failed to materialise in the Big Apple and now producers have announced the show will close, after 148 performances, on 6 September (09).
The musical, based on Parton’s 1980 film, will begin a national tour in Nashville, Tennessee three weeks later.
Parton insists the show has been a big hit for her: "I couldn’t have asked for a better experience on my first Broadway show. I’ve had the privilege of working with an amazing group of people who have become like family to me. I can’t wait for this show to hit the road so people across the country can see why I’m so proud of everyone involved." 9 To 5: The Musical was nominated for four 2009 Tony Awards, including Best Original Score, Best Actress in a Musical (Allison Janney), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Marc Kudisch), and Best Choreography. Janney also received a 2009 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical and the production received a record-breaking 15 Drama Desk nominations, including Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Actress in a Musical and Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Marc Kudisch).

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KATIE HOLMES has dismissed reports she was caught up in a car explosion while shooting her new movie DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, insisting she had already left the set when the incident occurred.
The actress, who is on location in Victoria, Australia, was alleged to have made a narrow escape when the battery of the vehicle she was said to be filming in caught fire unexpectedly, forcing the cast and crew to run for safety.
But while the star’s spokesperson admits the incident did take place, they insist Tom Cruise’s wife was nowhere near.
Her rep tells GossipCop.com, "She had already left the set 10 minutes prior to it happening."

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