David Beckham joined the English football team in a friendly match against the Netherlands team in Amsterdam yesterday (the teams tied at 2-2) but the talk of the day, as usual, was on his desire/need to get out of his commitment to the LA Galaxy here in the US to play for a European team (preferably, AC Milan). Despite Becks‘s continued public claims that he is committed to playing for the Galaxy (for now), his national coach Fabio Capello has made perfectly clear that he must move back to Europe if he wants to be considered for next year’s World Cup finals in South Africa. Becks continues to say that he has not yet made a decision on what he’ll do when he finishes his stint with the Galaxy but Capello has issued the ultimatum that he must be playing on a European team by December if he wants to play in the World Cup. Poor Becks. Here are a few pics of Becks at the Amsterdam game this week and some deets of his trubs:

David Beckham says he will wait to make a decision on whether he will return to Europe and claims his sole focus at present remains on helping LA Galaxy enjoy a productive end to the MLS season. England boss Fabio Capello is keen for the experienced midfielder to play as much competitive football as possible – most likely for a big European side – but Beckhamt claims he will put the issue to one side until the Galaxy’s current campaign comes to a close. “At the moment all I am concentrating on is the MLS,” he told Sky Sports News following England’s 2-2 draw with Holland on Wednesday. “When you are back with the England squad, of course you concentrate on that and what game is coming up, but I am going to concentrate on the rest of the MLS season with the Galaxy and then after that finishes, in a few months, I will make plans. But that is news that I already knew. “I’m 95-99 per cent certain that it will happen. It’s important that I concentrate on the season with the Galaxy, and when that’s over there will be a decision by myself and the club that I will be going to. But it’s important I concentrate over there first.”

David Beckham has all but ruled out a return to the English Premier League after insisting AC Milan are very much his first choice when he leaves LA Galaxy at the end of the Major League Soccer season. Beckham, who won his 113th cap for England during Wednesday’s 2-2 draw against Holland in Amsterdam, has been told by his national coach Fabio Capello that he must move back to Europe if he wants to be considered for next year’s World Cup finals in South Africa. Capello’s comments led to speculation that Beckham could return to the Premier League for the first time since leaving Manchester United for Real Madrid in 2003, with Tottenham, Portsmouth and even Chelsea reported to be interested. But the midfielder, who paid out of his own pocket to subsidise a loan move to Milan last season, was unimpressed when asked if he could play in England again. “No. I mean I’m never going to stand here and say it will never happen but obviously I enjoyed my time at Milan and they have expressed that they want me to go back,” Beckham said after England’s draw. “You know AC Milan is one of the best clubs in the world.” The one thing Beckham is well aware of is that Capello has insisted he must be in Europe by Christmas if he wants to go to South Africa. “I read that a couple of days ago but it’s old news,” Beckham said. “I’ve always known that, everyone has known that and it’s been a fact for a long time now. It’s important I’m playing in a European league leading up to the World Cup. I’ll concentrate on the rest of the MLS season with the Galaxy and then after that’s finished in a few months I’ll make plans.” Beckham’s loyalty to England has gone down less well in the States where he was booed by Galaxy fans on his return to the MLS. But his recent performances on the field have helped the team to second in the table and a possible play-off place. “Things are going well,” Beckham added. “That’s why I want to concentrate on Galaxy now and finish the season on a high.” Things are also going well with England after they came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in the Amsterdam Arena.

HMMM … doesn’t it kinda sound like Becks wants it all, all at the same time. He wants his cake, he wants to eat his cake and he also wants an extra cake to keep and put aside so he can eat it when he’s finished eating his first cake. It seems to me that if Becks wants to end his career on a high note, he should make up his mind, commit to a team and see that commitment thru to the end. It seems silly that he’s pretty much all over the place, scrambling from team to team trying to remain relevant to any of them. His time is running out, he needs to focus … or his career may just piddle out and die. He’s still hot tho, at least he’s got that going for him.

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Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, the principal stars of the upcoming sequel film The Twilight Saga: New Moon, are featured on the cover of this week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly (The Fall Movie Preview issue) with nary a hint of Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson even mentioned. HMMM. R. Pattz was interviewed for the EW piece and is quoted in the coverstory interview but as this magazine cover makes clear, New Moon is all about the relationship between Bella Swan (K. Stew) and Jacob Black (Tay Tay):

With a new director, a new level of fame for stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, and a new set of washboard abs for Taylor Lautner, the second film in the Twilight series, due Nov. 20, promises even more swooning-opportunities for its fans. This week’s double issue of Entertainment Weekly places Stewart and Lautner on the cover, while revealing secrets from the New Moon set inside. New Moon, a far different beast than Twilight, is steeped in heartbreak, focusing on the recovery Bella (Stewart) undergoes after Edward (Pattinson) breaks her heart and her new feelings for her friend Jacob (Lautner). Pattinson couldn’t be happier with his downsized role: “It was a stress-free job for three months,” says the actor. “All the pressure was on Taylor.” There were some minicontroversies surrounding the set – director Chris Weitz replaced Twilight helmer Catherine Hardwicke, Lautner had to publicly campaign to keep the role of Jacob, and actress Rachelle Lefevre was replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard for the soon-to-be-shot third film in the series. Lautner ultimately secured the spot thanks in part to Stewart. “It’s completely understandable why they wanted to make sure he was right,” says the actress. “He was so young, 16, so I got it. But I knew he had [to do] it. Just because of how I felt around him.” And how did the Bella-Jacob best-friend chemistry play out on set? “We have that relationship,” she says. “It’s lamely cute.” Taylor trained hard to bulk up for the role of the budding werewolf. “My body fat got so low that we actually needed to increase it a little bit,” he says. “My trainer would be like, ‘Go have a huge milk shake just so I can get a thousand calories into your body.’” Stewart thinks the new film will be beefier, too: “[Making Twilight] was much more of a fight,” she says. “We needed to make something commercial but stay true to the book. We didn’t have enough money. It was all very impulsive, and that’s what I love about that movie…But I think New Moon is gonna be even better.”

Wait … is that a hint of a smile on Kristen‘s face? Actually, whenever we see her with Taylor (and not Rob around) she tends to smile more. No wonder Summit Entertainment decided that they couldn’t fire Taylor from the role of Jacob in New Moon … he is, very likely, the only person on Earth that can get any emotion out of her. HMMM. Even tho The Twilight Saga: New Moon is still over 2 months away the promo machine is already heating up. The next trailer for the film hits movie theaters this weekend (tho, we already got a sneak preview here on the blog yesterday) and now this new issue of Entertainment Weekly. The Twilight party is just getting started, y’all … are you ready for the next go round?

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On Tuesday we learned the grim news that production on the ill-conceived Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark Broadway musical was put on indefinite hold due to the expensive production costs that were getting out of hand. At the time, while the report suggested the show was in trubs there was no hint that it was near fatal. Today we learn from the New York Post that pretty much all hope for the production to make it to the stage is lost. The production remains “on hold” but the actors who have signed on for the show have been let out of their contracts … sounds like it’s pretty much dunzo to me:

I think it’s pretty safe to whip out the plastic flatware and give a hearty Peace the Spork Out to the Spider-Man Musical. It was a terrible idea from the start, yes, but the timing couldn’t have been worse. If they had come up with the idea about 5 years ago, when pretty much every single movie was being recycled into a Broadway show, it prolly could’ve been a marginal success. While I am still very intrigued by the notion of Julie Tamor (the woman who helmed the amazing Broadway musical based on Disney‘s The Lion King) bringing Spider-Man to the musical theater stage, nothing else about the production sounded viable. If you are one of the unfortunate folks who already shelled out for tickets to this fiasco, I’d see about getting your money back … tout suite! I guess the next time we get to see the web-slinger in action will be on the big screen.

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Britney Spears is a baller, y’all. Remember that shopping spree that she went on earlier this week where it was reported that she bought pretty much everything in sight at Vionet Boutique on Robertson Blvd. in West Hollywood, CA? Well it turns out that she literally bought everything in sight … and in such little time. Homegirl blew $3,000 in about 15 mins. at the shop … clearly, the tough economic times that we are all feeling these days have zero effect on her:

Further proof Britney Spears was completely sane during her frantic shopping spree Tuesday afternoon — she spent nearly $3,000 in 15 minutes!!!!

We’re told some of the items Brit Brit bought at the Vionnet Boutique in Beverly Hills were…

– $175 silk lace camisole
– $345 tourmaline ring
– $520 total on two lace trim slip dresses
– $200 aqua & lavender ring
– $195 tank with lace

One of the outfits she even wore right out of the store. Unfortunately, one of her purchases was not a new weave.

To be honest, the amount that she spent could’ve very easily been $30,000.00 so I guess it’s a good thing that she showed some restraint. Look, Britney can pretty much spend whatever the hell she likes … she’s worked hard for her money this year and deserves the right to spend her money to her hearts content … well, within reason. I understand that Britney fell in love with pretty much everything at Vionet Boutique … tho, I gotta agree with this report, she prolly should spend some of that cheddar on a new weave ;)

[Photo credit: X17; Source]