Earlier today we got our first look at a new group promo pic of the principal cast of True Blood but right now, I’ve got something way cooler for you to feast on. Last week we learned that a mini-series of mini-episodes titled A Drop of True Blood has been produced of entirely new material not seen in previous seasons and won’t be featured in the upcoming third season … and right now, we get to watch the first episode of A Drop of True Blood in full! The first mini-ep features vampires Eric and Pam auditioning a few dancers:

LMAOOOOOOO!! With little tid-bits like this to sate our thirst in the coming weeks until the new season premieres in June, I think we’ll all be just fine. New mini-eps of A Drop of True Blood will debut on HBO each Sunday night leading up to the season 3 premiere on June 13. If this first ep is any indication, we’re in for a real treat in the coming weeks :)

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In recent months we’ve heard reports of remake films being planned for the big screen that run the gamut from the very cool (ie. Thundercats) to the very lame (ie. Smurfs) and today we learn that another remake is being planned to try and cash in on our childhood memories. Apparently, plans are in the works to bring back the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in live-action form (which, some of you may recall, already happened in the early 90′s with the films Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze) and here is the reported first look at the turtle characters may look like:

Looks like the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is going in the rebooted Batman Begins direction. Because these rumored prototype turtle-heads really do look like the end result of rolling a turtle around in a can of ooze. Not that that’s a bad thing! Latino Review has the exclusive first look at a possible mask for the new live action TMNT movie. Last we heard, the new movie, from Legendary Pictures, is set to come out in 2011, and promises to be very similar to the original comic book exploits of the TMNT. We really hope this is the real thing, because it’s about time since we had some good old fashioned monster make-up that didn’t disappoint. The tip came from an anonymous source, so your guess is as good as mine. But that being said it still looks bad-ass. Head to Latino Review for more details.

My gut tells me that we don’t need another TMNT movie. But, I am impressed with how “real” this new version of how the turtles may look. If a group of turtles were to go swimming in a pool of radioactive waste, I suppose it’s in the realm of possibility that they might turn out to look like this guy featured here. I’ll have to see what other deets spill from this planned remake film, but if Vanilla Ice is not on the soundtrack, I’m not gonna be interested at all. What do y’all think … does this sound like a good idea to you?

UPDATE: It turns out that this particular TMNT head is fan-made and is NOT part of the planned movie remake. Even tho this mask was not made for the film, I think it gives the powers that be in charge of the TMNT remake some good direction on where the film should go. Altho this turtle looks a bit scary, I like his grittiness. I wouldn’t be surprised if this fan-made mask ends up being superior to whatever the movie studio comes up with.

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Last week we learned that amazing news that Kylie Minogue is releasing a new single titled All The Lovers in June and a new album titled Aphrodite in July. Today, producer Stuart Price is giving us all sorts of info about Kylie‘s new album which, by the sound of it, will be one of the hottest albums released this year! Price invited Popjustice into the recording studio to talk about Kylie‘s new album Aphrodite, here are some excerpts from their chat:

Here is a picture of the microphone songstrel Kylie Minogue used to record vocals for her new album. How do we know this? Because Stuart Price told us so when we VISITED HIS STUDIO LAST FRIDAY TO HEAR TRACKS FROM ‘APHRODITE’ … Here are some things we discovered on our fact-finding mission to Acton.

FIRST UP: THE SINGLE IS BIG BOLD DANCEABLE PROPER KYLIE. This is the most important news, because if the singles come in the wrong order the whole thing falls apart. ‘All The Lovers’ is the comeback single ’2 Hearts’ wasn’t, which is funny because it’s written by the same people (ie the artists formerly known as Kish Mauve). In tone it’s a bit like ‘I Believe In You’ (which until now was Kylie’s best single since ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’) with a more danceable edge; a confident, worldly-wise voice in ‘All The Lovers’ replaces the slightly naive optimism of ‘I Believe In You’. The song starts off with Kylie quietly singing “dance, it’s all I wanna do, why won’t you move? I’m standing here with you, why won’t you move?”. Kylie suggests that the dancing is important “even if it throws you to the fire, fire, fire” and as the HUGE MASSIVE CHORUS storms into view it’s clear that the song’s not really about relaxing while you dance, it’s about relaxing into a relationship … SECONDLY: OTHER TRACKS ARE ALSO V GOOD. Stuart played us a handful of other tracks from the album. ‘Get Out Of My Way’ could well be this album’s ‘Love At First Sight’; ‘Better Than Today’, while similar to the version Kylie performed live last year, now seems to have a punchier, more stompsome production. Another song Stuart played us even though he wasn’t meant to but what are they going to do sack him is a slightly ‘Wow’-esque number which has a BRILLIANT ‘Stuart Price moment’ (you’ll know it when you hear it) plus another segment in which everything falls away – Stuart describes this is “the moment in a club when you can hear glasses clinking” … THE TITLE TRACK IS IMMENSE AND RIDICULOUS AND FANTASTIC. ‘Aphrodite’ is the title track on ‘Aphrodite’, hence the name. Stuart likes its ‘Rhythm Nation’-esque qualities; we felt there was a slight Art Of Noise-ish, ‘True Faith’-ey thing going on. It would have fitted in well on ‘X’ and would have been one of the album’s best tracks, not least for the line “it’s the truth, it’s a fact, I was gone and now I’m back”. It’s a lyric that underlines and puts into capital letters the idea that this, not ‘X’, is really Kylie’s big comeback album.

Stuart Price isn’t even CLOSE to finished dishing secrets about the album, he’s got a lot more to share. After the jump, find out more deets about Kylie Minogue‘s new album Aphrodite …

It is with great pleasure that I pass along the first video trailer for an exciting new MTV reality TV series called Downtown Girls. Now, this show is one that is near and dear to my heart because my good friend Gurj is one of the main girls featured on the show and my other dear friend Marissa worked behind the scenes on the show’s production! I’ve been anxiously awaiting the first bit of news as to when MTV was planning to air the series and today we learn that Downtown Girls will premiere on MTV on June 1:

MTV steps inside the New York City social scene in “Downtown Girls,” a new series premiering Tuesday, June 1st at 11PM ET/PT. The show chronicles the real-life exploits of Shallon Lester, a blogger for Glamour.com, and her friends: Gurj, a digital marketing guru at Atlantic Records; Nikki, a fashion boutique owner; Victoria, an aspiring attorney; and Klo, a bride-to-be, as they show they have what it takes to make it in the city, together. From crazy nights out to swapping ex-boyfriends to supporting each other through difficult times by laughing through tears, these young women often find themselves in situations that test their views of life, romance and friendship. Although their adventures sometimes lead to disaster, the girls know they can always rely on each other in the end. Some women come to Manhattan looking for that perfect uptown life, but these girls prefer the wild, unexpected ride that makes them Downtown Girls.

This is so exciting! I can’t wait to see my girl Gurj on the boob tube cuz I know that all y’all are gonna love her as much as I do :) Downtown Girls seems to be an amalgam of The Hills and The City but with more realness (ie. real girls with real jobs) … but, of course, this is MTV reality TV we’re talking about so … we’ll just have to wait and see. After the jump, check out the trailer for Downtown Girls and find out more about the girls who will be featured on this fun new show …

Folks … I’m still feelin’ kinda crappy. Yesterday was pretty miserable and today ain’t much better. I’ve been trying to stay conscious long enough to get work done but the siren call of my bed keeps getting louder and louder and louder:

Unfortch, David seems to have caught a bit of what I’ve been suffering with so he’s slowed as well. We make a perfectly pitiful pair and I am hoping to goodness that our suffering will end soon. I’ve been trying to drown myself in Nyquil as much as possible … so we’ll see how long this lasts. I do want to send love back to all y’all for sending your warm wishes … they are much appreciated. I ain’t dead yet … I will survive.

• Matt Damon to spawn again.
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• You’ll never guess what Paris Hilton keeps on her nightstand.
• Olivia Munn would rather go naked than go to the circus.
• Coo-coo for CoCo.
• John Mayer erroneously believes that Twitter is “over”.
• Johnny Depp and fam surface in Venice.
• Not only is LuAnn de Lesseps Count-less but she is also talent-less as well.
• Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy is 26, Sheena Easton is 51, Ace Frehley of KISS is 59, Kate Pierson of The B-52′s is 62 and Casey Kasem is 78 years old today. Click HERE to see who else is celebrating a birthday today.
• Scarlett Johansson wants to do a Black Widow movie.
• Amy Winehouse falls, gets hospitalized.
• Courtney Love says that Gavin Rossdale cheated on his wife Gwen Stefani with her.

With a little over a week left to go until the film opens in theaters, Iron Man 2 held its world premiere here in LA last night at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, CA. As you might expect, the main stars of IM2 were in attendance last night along with a few of their very famous friends. Here are a few photos from last night’s Iron Man 2 Hollywood premiere and some deets from Robert Downey, Jr. himself about what we can expect from this second installment of the Iron Man saga:

As a kid, Robert Downey Jr. never dressed up in superhero costumes. “Growing up? No,” says Downey Jr. “But in my mid-30s in Palm Springs right before an arrest? Yes. It was a premonition.” Although the actor is making light of his past struggles with drug abuse, what is no joke is Downey Jr’s success at resurrecting his acting career after overcoming a long addiction to heroin and cocaine. He made a stunning comeback as Tony Stark, an arrogant, hard drinking, wisecracking playboy engineer who also wrestles with his own personal demons in 2008′s big screen adaptation of the Marvel comic book series, “Iron Man.” Now, Downey Jr., 45, is back in “Iron Man 2″ along with plenty more action, characters and explosions. The film opens in much of Europe, Asia and Australia this week before hitting U.S. theaters on May 7. The parallels between Downey Jr. and Tony Stark were obvious in the original and are just as clear in the sequel. After five years of drug arrests culminating in a prison term in 2000, Downey Jr.’s return to Hollywood’s A-list post- “Iron Man” — including a Golden Globe award for his role in “Sherlock Holmes” — is not unlike Stark’s own rise in status after he reveals his dual identity as the armored superhero. “I think (Robert’s own success) informed the level of fame and resurgence that Tony Stark experiences since he announces that he’s Iron Man,” director Jon Favreau told reporters. In “Iron Man 2″, Stark himself is no longer making weapons — just saving the world and enjoying his rock star status. Except now the U.S. government insists that he hand over his superhero suit to the military. Stark refuses. Favreau likened the sequel to someone throwing another party after a successful first bash. “Iron Man” earned $585 million at worldwide box offices and the pressure was in making sure “this was going to be as fun or more fun than the last party,” he said. Putting together the sequel began soon after the first movie was released. With plenty of characters vying for a finite amount of screen time in the sequel, Favreau needed actors who could really “make an impression.” Gwyneth Paltrow is back as Pepper Potts, who Stark promotes from assistant to CEO of his Stark Industries. At the same time, Stark needs to solve the mystery behind new character, Russian villain Ivan Vanko, played by Mickey Rourke. Rounding out the new cast is Scarlett Johansson, sporting red hair as The Black Widow, and Sam Rockwell as weapons manufacturer Justin Hammer. Don Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard in the role of Lt. Col. James Rhodes. Rourke was enlisted to play Vanko (a.k.a Whiplash) as he was coming off his own career resurgence with Golden Globe and BAFTA best actor awards last year for “The Wrestler” … With this cast in place, Downey Jr. said he “felt a little bit like a co-manager of a baseball team that just got an even better line-up in the spring.”

And away we go. Now that the first premiere is in the can, the countdown is really underway for the release of Iron Man 2. As you may recall, IM2 was due to premiere in London first but due to the Icelandic volcano that has been disrupting European air travel, the first premiere was moved over here to LA. I suspect there will other premieres in NYC and London in the coming week … and then the film opens wide here in the US on May 7. I’ve been staying away from reading reviews so as not to spoil the film before I get to see it, but I’m hearing generally positive things about the sequel. I cannot wait to see this film for myself … I can hardly believe we are so close to its release.

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

Yesterday we got our first look at the first promo photo released from Christina Aguilera‘s upcoming new music video Not Myself Tonight which is due to premiere online this coming Friday April 30. Today we get our second look at the video as a second promo photo from the vid is released on Xtina‘s official website. As you can see from this new photo, Xtina appears to be vamping it up with a bunch of vampire back-up dancers in her new music video:

Yesterday’s photo was all about Christina Aguilera in latex. Today, we switch it up with a sensual group photo of Christina and her dancers. With sequin leotard and knee high boots, you know Christina is ready for anything!

In addition to this new promo photo, Xtina‘s site is also giving us a video peek at the music video which features Xtina lookin’ like a freak-a-deak in a sexy Princess Leia-like get-up:

After the jump, check out the sneak peek video that further teases the release of the full music video, due out on Friday …

Head’s up, True Blood fans! A very cool new promo pic for the upcoming third season of the show has made its way to Facebook, courtesy of Kristin Bauer (who plays saucy vampire Pam on the show). Here is our first look at the new True Blood promo photo that Bauer shared with her Facebook friends this week:

It’s unclear if this new promo photo is officially part of HBO‘s Waiting Sucks promo campaign but any new promo stuff is welcome, yes? After the jump, check out a closer look at this photo to see what clues it might contain as to what we can expect from True Blood season 3 …

Back in February we learned of a campaign called Save the Peak which was attempting to raise funds to ensure that the undeveloped land around The Hollywood Sign in the Hollywood Hills would not be turned into hotels, condos, etc. $12 million dollars had to be raised in order to offset the cost of the land to keep it from being sold to the highest bidder who would, in turn, develop the land and ruin one of the most famous landmarks in this country. Yesterday, it was announced that the needed funds have been collected and that the Cahuenga Peak (ie. the area around The Hollywood Sign) has been saved from development! Much is being made that Hugh Hefner donated the remaining $900,000 to save the peak but it should be pointed out that more than half of the money raised came from private donors (like YOU, like the hard working folks at the non-profit organization The Trust for Public Land) from all 50 States and from other countries around the world:

The Hollywood sign, a beacon to stars and star-struck alike, has been saved from urban sprawl under a land conservation pact announced after a donation by Playboy founder Hugh Hefner capped a multimillion-dollar fundraising drive. “It’s a symbol of dreams and a symbol of opportunity and hope,” actor-turned Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told a press conference Monday below the towering letters. “The Hollywood sign will welcome dreamers, artists and Austrian bodybuilders for generations to come.” The huge sign overlooking the city was in danger of having its distinctive setting on the flanks of the Santa Monica Mountains crowded by construction of estate homes on nearby Cahuenga Peak. But a $900,000 donation from Heffner, who helped save the sign itself 32 years ago, and a $500,000 matching grant completed a $12.5 million fundraising drive to protect 138 acres from development that would have altered the globally recognized symbol of the world’s film and television capital. “My childhood dreams and fantasies came from the movies, and the images created in Hollywood had a major influence on my life and Playboy,” Hefner said. Schwarzenegger praised the public and private partnership that raised the money to keep the property out of the hands of developers. The Trust for Public Land conservation group raised $6.7 million in private funds, the state offered $3.1 million, and local funds totaled $2.7 million. Schwarzenegger said private donations came from all 50 states, 10 foreign countries, The Tiffany & Co. and a number of individuals, including J. Paul Getty heir Aileen Getty, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks … Ironically, the sign was originally erected in 1923 to promote a real estate development, with its 30-foot-by-50-foot letters spelling “Hollywoodland.” But as Hollywood was entering its golden age, the sign already symbolized the allure of stardom. In the 1930s a young, struggling actress climbed the sign and leaped to her death. By the late 1940s the sign was falling apart and the “land” portion was removed, giving it the appearance known today. It continued to decay even after the city made it a cultural monument in 1973. Hefner came to the rescue in 1978 by organizing a fundraiser that enabled a complete rebuilding of the sign, which had to vanish from the skyline for several months. Wildlife Conservation Board executive director John Donnelly said the permanent protection of Cahuenga Peak is a significant addition to the city’s 4,210-acre Griffith Park and will enhance wildlife corridors throughout the region. “Today, we have the Hollywood ending we hoped for,” said William B. Rogers, president of The Trust for Public Land.

It’s clear that The Hollywood Sign means a lot to Hugh Hefner, who first stepped up to help clean up the sign in 1978 and then, once again, stepped up to ensure that Cahuenga Peak remains undeveloped so that the sign can stand untouched. But, as much as Hefner deserves props for stepping up to help, I think many more props should go out to all the folks to donated their own money to ensure that The Hollywood Sign be saved. It is a beacon of hope and dreams that stands for all of us to enjoy. If anything, this Save the Peak campaign has proven that we the people own the sign … and we won’t let anyone eff with it. This is just fantastic news. Wee!!

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]