Taylor Lautner, star of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, was on hand to make an appearance on The Today Show on NBC earlier today in celebration of New Moon in Theaters day and did his best to bring his charming smile to all his eager fans … he even took the time to blow kisses to the folks in the audience:

And with this smooch to fans, Taylor and the entire Twilight family is hoping that you will rush out and see The Twilight Saga: New Moon in theaters today. Already, the movie set a new box office record for midnight showings last night taking in over $26 million already:

The Twilight Saga: New Moon has set a box-office record for midnight screenings. Summit Entertainment estimated Friday that it earned $26.3 million after opening early in the morning. That would topple the previous midnight record, held by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It earned $22.2 million this year. The Dark Knight from 2008 is third with $18.5 million. New Moon is the second installment of the popular Twilight series. It opened at midnight in 3,514 theaters with a per-theater average of $7,476. Paul Dergarabedian is a box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. He says the midnight start “portends an opening weekend that could be one of the biggest of the year. “

And so … Taylor and his Twilight cohorts have done everything they can to get your butts in theater seats. I know many of you have seen the film already (and are prolly planning to see it again) but are any of y’all planning on seeing New Moon this weekend? Do y’all think it will be the biggest money maker of the year?

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

Vanilla Ice (nee Robert Van Winkle) is becoming a bit of a staple here on the blog … a few weeks ago we learned that he is starring in a beer commercial down in South Africa and a week or so after that we learned that he celebrated his 42nd birthday at Studio 54 inside the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Today we get to see a bunch of photos of V. Ice doing his thang (whatever it is that his thang is these days) at a bar in Long Island, NY earlier this week:

It turns out that Vanilla was on hand to play guest bartender at McFadden’s Bar in, what can only be assumed as, an attempt to make some extra money on the side. Surely the residuals from his Ice, Ice Baby days can’t be as lucrative as they once were so … you can’t really blame a guy for getting a second job, especially in this tough economy. It looks like he is a heavy-handed pourer … he might actually have a future in bartending!

[Photo credit: Splash News]

Heidi Klum, who just gave birth to her 4th child last month, strutted her stuff along with a gaggle of beautiful Victoria’s Secret models (called Angels) on the runway at The Armory in NYC, NY last night for a taping of the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show TV Spectacular. Here are a few pics from the runway last night:

Heidi Klum and her post-baby body led the parade at the annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show, which returned to New York with some fresh faces after four years on the road. The lingerie retailer inducted five more women into its “Angel” ranks — a designation reserved for top models — in front of a packed house Thursday night at the Lexington Avenue Armory. They are Emanuela de Paula, Chanel Iman, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Lindsay Ellingson and Candice Swanepoel. But Klum, who gave birth to a daughter five weeks ago, was the audience favorite in her purple corset covered with a half gown with poufs of tulle. She emerged from the huge, castlelike set to applause. Musical guest The Black Eyed Peas — especially Fergie, its only female member, who wore a black, jeweled bodysuit — was another crowd-pleaser. She came out later in a green corset gown. Of course, fashion really is secondary here. Victoria’s Secret always puts on an elaborate production (this time with a choir, acrobatic dancers and a giant polka-dot dog balloon) and fuels hype about its models. An online model search started earlier this month and is now down to two contestants, one of whom will be chosen by the public to appear in the televised version of the fashion show that CBS will air Dec. 1. “I could watch this online, but it’s a fun scene,” said Russell Simmons from his front row seat. “This show is always fun and a great production.” “It’s always a spectacular,” agreed costume designer Patricia Field. “Victoria’s Secret does that extra thing I like.” Klum, who normally wears the most elaborate outfits, only appeared once so it was former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover girl Marissa Miller who had the honor of wearing a $3 million, diamond-encrusted bra. Splashy jewels, it seemed, were one of the themes of the show with many models dripping in diamonds, crystals and other bling — while others wore faux fur stoles over their bras and panties. Thigh-high boots were the other must-have accessory. Outfits fell into one of four themes: Star Trooper with breast plates and body armor; Pink Planet, which had a hippie vibe; the ethereal Enchanted Forest; and Romantic Journey that featured a lot of lace. Compared to previous years, the overall collection didn’t seem as skimpy, although Miranda Kerr wore an itsy-bitsy black thong get-up that might have to be edited out of the TV show.

Altho these VS fashion shows aren’t really my thing, I can’t believe how much I enjoy watching them year after year … I think it’s all the fun colors and feathers. And, to be honest, even I can appreciate how insanely hawt all of the VS Angels are … this is really a very fun show. I’m so glad that Heidi was up to walking the runway this year, especially after giving birth just about a month ago. The woman looked fantastic, as always. I can’t wait to see this show when it airs on CBS next month.

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin; Source]

Rihanna, who just released music videos for her new singles Wait Your Turn (The Wait Is Ova) and Russian Roulette and who is doing everything she can to promote the release of her new album Rated R (due out in stores on November 23), played her first ever concert on a cruise ship off the coast of Ft. Lauderdale, FL last night. Ri Ri played a show on the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas cruise ship in an outfit that looked greatly inspired by Malin Ackerman’s Silk Spectre II costume from the movie version of Watchmen:

I understand that the Oasis of the Seas is the largest cruise ship in the world and Rihanna was on hand to perform and christen the ship for its maiden voyage … but I cannot get over Ri Ri’s yellow outfit … it really does look like a superhero’s costume. She rocks it right tho. I’m certain Royal Caribbean paid Rihanna quite a pretty penny to perform on their new ship so I guess we can forgive her for agreeing to play a concert on a cruise ship. After all, a girl’s gotta make a living.

[Photo credit: INFdaily]

Last night, at a premiere event hosted by The Cinema Society and D&G, Twilight stars Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Kellan Lutz were on hand at the Landmark’s Sunshine Cinema in NYC, NY for the New York premiere of The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Last night’s mini-premiere screening event was the very last one before the film opened in theaters at the stroke of midnight. Entertainment Weekly spoke one last time to the cast and the principal stars gave their final thoughts on the film. Here are a few pics from the very fashionable red carpet:

Taylor Lautner was loyal to his wolfpack at the New York premiere of New Moon on Thursday night. Asked if vampires or werewolves were sexier, Lautner told EW: “That’s a hard question. They’re sexier in different ways. But, I mean, I’ll stay true to the pack. I’ll go werewolf.” Score one for Team Jacob. Lautner — and his co-stars including Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Nikki Reed, Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz — continued the promotional whirlwind for New Moon at a Big Apple screening hosted by The Cinema Society and D&G. The stars might have been relieved that the New York event didn’t reach the fan frenzy of the Los Angeles premiere on Monday night — this low-key event was under the radar of most Twihards, attracting about 100 fans who stood patiently in the drizzling rain on Houston Street at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema. Notable audience members included Natalie Portman, Gossip Girl’s Jessica Szohr and Taylor Momsen, Howard Stern, Agyness Deyn, and Patrick Wilson. Lautner told us that he was happy to see Jacob’s role expanded in the sequel. “It was really exciting for me that Jacob has the opportunity to develop his relationship with Bella in this movie,” he said. “Really it’s setting up this entire series, which is this love triangle. So it was great to have them develop their relationship.” That also meant more bonding time on the New Moon set with Kristen Stewart. “Kristen and I have a very similar relationship to Jacob and Bella. We’re very open and honest with each other, we can tell each other things.” The pair probably won’t be sharing a row in your local cinema on Friday, though. Stewart was asked if she would be checking out release-day frenzy at a theater. “No!,” she said emphatically. But she did sound appreciative of all the attention directed at her character, Bella. “I think Bella is a really good role model. To be able to play her is just a serious honor.” Robert Pattinson had a guy’s guy approach when asked about how he chooses which suits to wear to his appearances. “I don’t know, I just see which one fits and see which one looks alright I guess,” the unshaven actor said. Director Chris Weitz joked that he had a hard time with the paparazzi. “They’re after me all the time. They just want pictures of me holding Rob’s hand,” he said with a laugh … Ma and Pa Cullen also spoke to us about how New Moon is a much different film than Twilight. “Twilight was like a 30-35 million dollar movie which is not cheap. But for sure, it feels a little more studio-based, this movie. It feels a little crisper, a little more epic,” Peter Facinelli (Dr. Carlisle Cullen) said. “I liked the intimate feel of [Twilight] but I think that for New Moon this works better…Chris Weitz did a fantastic job with the special effects.” Elizabeth Reaser (Esme Cullen) agreed there was a “huge difference” between Twilight and New Moon. “I thought the first one was kind of big and crazy, and this is just different. It’s a whole other level.”

And that, folks, is that … the movie is OUT in theaters now and has been for the past few hours. I, like countless others, ventured out to see The Twilight Saga: New Moon last night only to discover — after my friend Amber and I were well sated, seated and ready for action — that I had purchased tickets to a re-showing of the original Twilight movie! OY!!! By the time we realized what was going on, it was too late to get tix for New Moon (which was WELL sold out) so, because of my dumb ass, we were forced to watch Twilight again last night. My dear Amber was SUCH A SWEET SPORT for finding humor in the whole thing … I, of course, wanted to find the nearest hole to crawl into and DIE! UGH. We did have a fun night out tho … but I’ll be venturing out, again, this afternoon to finally see New Moon. I’m sure a great many of you have already seen the movie by now … so is it all that? The Twilight Saga: New Moon is OUT … what are you waiting for?

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

David Beckham spent some quality time with his sons Brooklyn Joseph, Romeo James and Cruz David here in SoCal this week playing some sports with his boys … but the Beckham men weren’t interested in playing soccer … they were more interested in playing a more traditionally American sport — football:

It seems David Beckham’s sons are well on there way to becoming all-American boys. Cruz, four, and Romeo, seven, and Brooklyn, nine, who now call Los Angeles home, were seen enjoying a game of American football yesterday. The little trio were in good spirits as they wrestled for the ball and at one stage Cruz lead an impromptu game of baseball. David was forced to coach from the sidelines after he twisted his ankle during a LA Galaxy match against Chivas USA last week. But sources say the star is wearing a medical boot as a precaution, and is expected to recover in time for the biggest game of his U.S. football career this weekend. His team is set to face Real Salt Lake in the final of the MLS Cup on Sunday in Seattle. Prior to Beckham’s injury, the team had been favourites to win the championship and it would be their first accolade since he joined the club three seasons ago.

Now, y’all know that I love any pics of Becks (or any dad for that matter) spending quality time with his kids but these photos are just too much. I love that the Beckham boys really do look like all American kids playing with their dad, who just so happens to be an international soccer star. The Beckham boys played more than just football with their dad yesterday — they also engaged a little in America’s favorite past time sport — check out those photos after the jump …

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Last week we got our first look at the various coverphotos for GQ magazine’s special multicover edition of their Man of the Year issue and last night, at the Chateau Marmont, GQ hosted a party to celebrate those men. Here are a few pics from the red carpet arrivals … which, strangely enough, included male pin-up model Levi Johnston and True Blood hottie Alexander Skarsgård who dished a bit about the upcoming third season of TB:

Skarsgard, 33, who plays brooding vampire Eric Northman on the HBO hit series True Blood, will begin shooting season three along with the rest of the cast later this month. The actor told RadarOnline.com that fans can expect a lot more from Eric this time around. “There’s a lot of nudity,” he said. “As far as Eric goes, there’s going to be a lot violence and a lot of sex — with women and men! So it should be interesting.” At 6-foot-four, Alexander’s model good looks are just as striking in person as they are on the small screen. Last season, he had to get up close and personal with True Blood co-star Anna Paquin — who in real life is engaged to co-star Stephen Moyer. But Skarsgard says there’s no tension on set. “No. I mean, I can’t wait to get back to my L.A. family,” he said referring to the True Blood cast. “I love Stephen, we’re friends and I love Anna. They’re great together. I actually think it makes things easier that way.” So there were absolutely no sparks flying between Skarsgard and Paquin during last season’s steamy love scenes? “Not at all,” he said. “Anna and I are completely platonic, and Stephen knows that.”

“A lot of nudity” — yeah, that is *just* what I was hopin’ to hear ;) I love Skarsgård and I’m always glad to see him out and about at these types of events … he seems like such a nice, approachable guy. As far as the other guests, well, it looks like GQ took grain pains to ensure that their event was a classy affair (Levi Johnston’s attendance notwithstanding). I’m all for celebrating Men of any Year no matter the occasion … especially hotties like these :)

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]