Yesterday we learned the sad news that, due to an injury to his Achilles tendon, David Beckham will no longer be able to participate in the upcoming World Cup soccer tournament (the last of his career). We also learned yesterday that Becks successfully underwent ankle surgery in Finland and is beginning his recovery there now. Today we get to see a few photos of wifey Victoria Beckham leaving LA to fly to Europe to be with her ailing husband as he recuperates in his Finish hospital:

Victoria Beckham arrived in the western Finnish city of Turku on Tuesday to be with her footballer husband David Beckham, who was recovering from Achilles tendon surgery, Finnish media reported. Victoria Beckham arrived at Turku airport just after 5 pm (1500 GMT) and took a car towards the centre of the city, where her 34-year-old husband was recovering from surgery he underwent on Monday, Finnish news agency STT said. The former England captain twisted his left ankle during the final minutes of an AC Milan Serie A game against Chievo on Sunday and limped off the field before being stretchered away in pain and in tears. The midfielder flew to Turku in a private plane on Monday for an operation at the sports injury clinic of Mehilaeinen hospital, where orthopaedic surgeon Sakari Orava operated on him. Orava told AFP the injury would prevent Beckham from taking part in the World Cup, which kicks off in South Africa on June 11. The couple are expected to leave Finland on Wednesday.

It is also expected that Les Beckhams will fly directly home to Los Angeles where Becks will finish out his recovery period. It would’ve been very easy for Victoria to hold down the fort here in SoCal for the few days until Becks flew home to SoCal by himself but I think it’s fantastic that she flew halfway around the world just so that Becks wouldn’t have to be in his hospital room alone. That’s lurve, y’all!! Here’s hoping VB will be able to brighten Becks‘s spirits a bit … and that he will recover from his injury in record time!! Heal well, Becks!

[Photo credit: X17, INFdaily; Source]

4 years after it went off the air, the hit supernatural TV series Charmed is making a comeback … in the world of comic books. As some of you may be well aware, Joss Whedon decided to revive the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series in comic book form and has been entertaining longtime (and new) fans with Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Season 8. Based on the success of the Buffy comics, Angel was also brought into the comic book world as well. It would appear that the owners of the Charmed license have been paying attention because today we learn that they are moving forward with the release of a Charmed comic book series that will pick up where the series left off when it ended its 8 year run back in May 2006. Here is our FIRST LOOK at Charmed #1:

Zenescope Entertainment has officially announced they have obtained the comic book and graphic novel publishing rights to the television property CHARMED (1998-2006) created by Constance M. Burge from Spelling Entertainment, under license from CBS Consumer Products. The comic book publisher, known for beautiful, sultry and strong female characters, has now added three more to the mix. The ultra-popular CHARMED television series aired for eight seasons on The WB network and averaged more than 4 million viewers throughout its run. Zenescope’s comic book series will feature a brand new storyline which picks up where the television series left off. The story follows the Halliwell sisters, a beautiful trio descended from a line of powerful but good witches, as they battle against evil beings in modern day San Francisco. Attached to write the new comic book series is author Paul Ruditis, who has written several Charmed novels such as Leo Rising (with Constance M. Burge) and As Puck Would Have It. Co-writing with Ruditis will be Raven Gregory, writer of the acclaimed Wonderland trilogy published by Zenescope. Renowned artist Dave Hoover (Captain America, The Wanderers) will be providing interior illustrations for the series. “The key to this series success is to strike a nice balance in creating a brand new, intriguing storyline for fans of the television show while also not alienating Zenescope and comic book readers who haven’t really followed it before but might want to now that it’s a comic,” said Zenescope Editor-in-Chief Ralph Tedesco. “The great thing is that Paul and Raven have done just that with this story arc. Anybody will be able to pick up this series and follow it whether or not they ever watched the show before. Moreover, fans of the show are going to be thrilled when they see where this story goes.” Issue #0 is scheduled for a June release with issue #1 to debut at Comic Con International in San Diego this July.

Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! I think some of you know that I have been on a HUGE Charmed kick lately (I’ve started re-watching the series, I’ll be finishing season 3 tomorrow) so this is very exciting news to me! Much like the Buffy comic employs writers from the TV series, it’s very smart for the Charmed comic book series to do the same. While the character of Prue Halliwell (played by Shannen Doherty) was NEVER resurrected on the TV series, I’m confident that writers will bring her back from the dead in some fashion in the comic books … mark my words! This is fantastic news … I’m so excited! I might have to make the trek down to San Diego Comic Con just to get the Charmed #0 comic book. Woot!

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We may be coming up on the 1-year anniversary of the death of Michael Jackson but that doesn’t mean that we’ve heard the last from him. Lawyers for the estate of the late Michael Jackson have reportedly brokered a recording contract for unreleased music, DVDs and video games from the King of Pop that is estimated at $250 million … which would make this deal the biggest in music history! Now that the deal is done, we can look forward to new music from MJ … and the first album of new material is scheduled for release this November:

Even in death, Michael Jackson remains the King of Pop. Less than a year after his shocking passing, the administrators of the late pop icon’s estate have signed the biggest recording contract in music history, a deal that the Los Angeles Times speculated could be worth up to $250 million and include unreleased recordings, DVDs and video games. The seven-year deal with Jackson’s longtime home, Sony Music Entertainment, could cover up to 10 new Jackson projects, though no specific releases were announced on Monday. “We and Sony feel that the future for Michael Jackson is unlimited,” said John Branca, a special administrator for the estate. In a testament to his enduring appeal, the Jackson deal eclipses a number of mega-deals signed by contemporary acts, including Bruce Springsteen’s $110 million deal with Columbia Records in 2005 and Robbie Williams’ $150 million pact with EMI in 2002. According to an anonymous source with knowledge of Jackson’s financial dealings, in the nine months since his death the singer has sold more than 31 million albums at a time when the music industry continues a decade-long album sales slide. In fact, the combination of those sales and other licensing deals cut by Branca have brought in close to $250 million to the estate, which has helped to ease the burden of the nearly $500 million in debt Jackson owed at the time of his death. Rob Stringer, the chairman of Columbia Epic Records, the Sony division that will likely handle the releases, said the recordings will “span across different projects. There may be theater. There may be films and movies. There may be computer games — or multimedia platforms that I don’t know about today that will happen in 2015″ … The estate’s other executor, John McClain, who worked with Jackson for over 40 years and helped produce the singer’s last studio album, 2001′s Invincible, is compiling an album of previously unreleased material that could [likely] be released later this year. “John McClain tells me they’ve got over 60 unreleased recordings that they’re choosing from,” Branca told the Times. “The first album will have around 10. There’s some very recent stuff and vintage stuff that deserves to be shared with Michael’s fans.” Jackson is said to have left behind more than 100 unreleased songs that could be mined for releases for decades in the same way that the recordings of Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix have since those performers’ deaths.

I understand that the contract has built in extensions that could be expanded out to 2017! In total, the deal is for 10 projects which will run the gamut from CDs to DVDs to games to theater productions? At this point, the sky’s the limit. For $250 million, apparently you get the opportunity to do whatever you want with this treasure trove of unreleased MJ material. Altho I am not a big fan of MJ‘s most recent music, I have to admit that I’m very curious to hear it all. Might there be other Thrillers, Billie Jeans, or Beat Its yet to be heard? We’ll find out … over the next 7 years! Excited?

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Happy news for fans of Paula Abdul AND the classic 80s talent TV show Star Search (the show, you might remember, which gave stars like Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Destiny’s Child and more their first exposure on TV when they were children) … according to Entertainment Weekly, ABC is revamping the show for its return to air and the network is very close to sealing the deal that would have Paula host and/or judge the show! I don’t know about you but this sounds like it could be a really sweet gig for our dear Paula:

This just in: Paula Abdul is straight up headed back to TV! Sources confirm to me exclusively that the ex-American Idol judge is finalizing a deal to headline an updated version of Star Search, the great-granddaddy of all televised singing competitions, for ABC. Abdul’s role is still being defined, but I hear it will likely include some combination of hosting and judging. An ABC rep refused to comment. The Alphabet network had been wooing Abdul since last summer when she officially announced her departure from Idol. There was talk of her joining Dancing With the Stars in some capacity, but a deal never came to fruition. It’s not clear if Abdul’s Star Search gig would preclude her from joining former colleague Simon Cowell as a judge on the forthcoming US version of his UK monster hit, The X Factor, which is slated to debut on Fox in the fall of 2011. (Star Search is being targeted for this summer.) This isn’t the first time that Star Search, which premiered in 1983 with host Ed McMahon, has been resurrected from the TV bone pile. In 2003, CBS brought the show back with Arsenio Hall in an attempt to capitalize on the massive popularity of the then-new American Idol. The revival was axed in 2004.

Man … Star Search was such a great show in the 80s! They used to have all sorts of competition segments beyond just singing and dancing. Contestants also had the chance to compete in Comedy and Spokesmodel (which was always my fave!). As the show got more popular, the Spokesmodel category got axed … but I hope they bring it back for this new version! I vaguely remember the Arsenio Hall version of the show but I never watched it … I would hope that Paula‘s Star Search would be more popular. This sounds like a great opportunity for Paula … but it would be fabulous if she could do this AND get a hosting gig on Cowell‘s US version of X-Factor. I want my homegirl to make money! What do y’all think about this? Any Star Search fans in the hiz? Is this great news or what?

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