George Clooney has 'no interest' in running for president, praises Barack Obama

George Clooney plays a presidential candidate in his new film "The Ides of March" but says he has "no interest" in running for office in real life and praised current U.S. leader Barack Obama.

"As for running for president, look, there's a guy in office right now who is smarter than almost anyone you know, who's nicer and who has more compassion than almost anyone you know," the 50-year-old actor told reporters at the Venice Film Festival, according to the Associated Press. "And he's having an almost impossible time governing. Why would anybody volunteer for that job?"

"I have a really good job," Clooney added. "I get to hang out with very seductive people. So I have no interest."

"The Ides of March" premiered on Wednesday, August 31, at the Venice Film Festival and is set to open in the United States on October 7. The film's title comes from the infamous line from the William Shakespeare play "Julius Caesar" and is adapted from the Broadway play "Farragut North."

The actor also directed and co-wrote the movie, which sees him playing Pennsylvania Governor Mike Morris, a Democratic presidential candidate. Ryan Gosling portrays Stephen Meyers, his press secretary, who becomes involved in a sex scandal that engulfs Morris' campaign. Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as the governor's campaign manager.

The movie also features Evan Rachel Wood as Meyers' intern, Marisa Tomei as a New York Times reporter and Paul Giamatti as a rival campaign manager.

"I don't actually think of this as a political film," Clooney told reporters. "I figure you could literally put this in Wall Street or you could put it pretty much anywhere and it's all the same sort of issues - it's issues of morality, it's issues of whether or not you're willing to trade your soul for an outcome."

"Many of the films I do are very personal," he added.

Clooney has used his celebrity status to promote political causes. Since 2004, he has donated almost $15,000 to Democratic causes, including Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

The actor is also a United Nations "Messenger of Peace." He visited the war-torn African country to Sudan last year to raise awareness of regional violence and an independence referendum. He contracted malaria during his trip.

PETA Ruffled Over Rihanna's Feathers

Stacey Dash leaves VH1's 'Single Ladies'

Stacey Dash is once again unattached.

The "Clueless" actress has left her role in the VH1 series "Single Ladies." In a statement, Dash said she was bowing out of the series which films in Atlanta, Georgia, for family reasons.

“I truly enjoyed playing Val on 'Single Ladies,' but I have decided to leave the show," she said. "I have to be back in L.A. with my children right now and the ‘Single Ladies’ shooting location makes that impossible. I wish VH1 the best of luck with the show and in maintaining the strong fan base we developed in season one.”
There had been rumored trouble on the set (including a speculated physical altercation) between Dash and co-star LisaRaye, whom told CNN in May that there was no truth to the reports.

The network released a statement wishing Dash well.

“VH1 respects Stacey’s decision and her commitment to what she feels is best for her family," the statement said. "We thank her for all of her hard work in making ‘Single Ladies’ a success right out of the gate, and we wish her nothing but the best in her future plans.”

T.I. gets reality show on VH1 about post-prison life

Atlanta-based rapper T.I. was released from prison on Wednesday, one month early, and already has a deal for a reality show in the works at VH1 about his post-prison life.

The network announced the show, which is still untitled, will follow T.I., "as he re-adjusts to life as a free man after being incarcerated for nearly a year in a Federal prison in Arkansas." The first season of the series will run for 10 half-hour episodes and is set to premiere on December 5.

The rapper was sent back to jail for 11 months in October 2010 after a federal judge revoked the rapper's probation.

T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, was released from a federal prison in Arkansas where he was serving time for a probation violation. The rapper initially served seven months at the prison in 2009 after he was arrested for trying to buy unregistered guns and silencers from undercover federal agents.

He was on probation after he was released and ordered not to commit another crime or to illegally possess any controlled substances. T.I. was arrested again in September 2010 in Los Angeles on drug charges after authorities said he was found with four ecstasy pills.

Police pulled over the rapper after he performed an illegal U-turn on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. During the traffic stop, deputies apparently smelled marijuana coming from the car. After looking inside the vehicle, the officers found pills resembling ecstasy.

"I want drugs out of my life. If I can get the treatment and counseling I need ... I can beat this," the rapper told the judge at the time of his October hearing, according to The Associated Press. "I need help. For me, my mother, my kids, I need the court to give me mercy."

MTV had a similar reality show with the rapper in 2009 called "T.I.'s Road to Redemption: 45 Days to Go," which chronicled his attempts to help others avoid his mistakes.

The arrest on weapons charges came after Harris' best friend was killed following a post-performance party in Cincinnati in 2006. The rapper has said the bullets that killed his friend were meant for him.

Marc Anthony: 'I'll always love Jennifer'

Singer Marc Anthony is speaking out for the first time about his split from Jennifer Lopez.

In an interview with ABC's "Nightline" set to air on Thursday, Anthony gets candid about his split with Lopez and admits, "I'll always love Jennifer."

Lopez, 42, and Anthony, 42, announced in July that they were breaking up, but they did not specify a reason for the split. The two married in June 2004 and their twin son and daughter, Max and Emme, were born in February 2008.

"I'll always love Jennifer, she knows it ... and my kids know that," Anthony says in a preview clip for the interview, which can be seen below. "Jennifer is a wonderful, wonderful woman. A wonderful mother. A wonderful friend."

When asked about the split, Anthony says, "It is sad because you think about the impact of all those people who believed in you, you think about your family, you think about the possibilities."

He adds, "We realized very, very early on that even though we're not together this story is not over. There's stuff to do together, there's stuff to see together through Max and Emme."

The two were spotted together earlier this month in Southampton, New York, but according to his spokesperson, the recently separated couple got together for their children's sake.

Lopez was the first to comment about the couple's split. She did it in an interview with Vanity Fair's September issue.

"To understand that a person is not good for you, or that that person is not treating you in the right way, or that he is not doing the right thing for himself - if I stay, then I am not doing the right thing for me," she said.

Lopez has been married twice before but has no other children other than her and Anthony's twins. She and Ojani Noa were married between 1997 and 1998. Lopez wed actor and dance choreographer Cris Judd in 2001. They divorced in 2003.

Before Lopez, Anthony was married to actress Dayanara Torres between 2000 and 2004. They have two sons - Cristian, who was born in 2001, and Ryan, born in 2003. Anthony also has a daughter named Ariana, who was born in 1994, with ex-girlfriend Debbie Rosado.

Part of the interview will air on Thursday's "Good Morning America." The full interview will air Thursday night on ABC's "Nightline" at 11:35 pm. See a clip below.

Kate Hudson shows off bikini body, six weeks after giving birth

Kate Hudson showed off a curvy bikini body while vacationing in the South of France this week, just seven weeks after she welcomed her son Bingham with fiancé Matthew Bellamy on July 7.

The 32-year-old actress sported a sheer white bikini while playing in the water with her Muse front man fiancé and her eldest son, Ryder, 7. U.K. newspaper the Daily Mail posted photos of the actress, who said recently that there is nothing wrong with putting on weight during pregnancy.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of when you blow up," Hudson told Marie Claire in June. "I would be eating ice cream, and my mom would literally pry the spoon away from me, saying, 'You've had enough to last you a lifetime!'"

Hudson told the magazine that she struggled to lose the excess baby weight after she gave birth to her son Ryder in January 2004, but lost the weight after three months of 3-hour-a-day cardio.

"Let me tell you something. It's an emotional roller coaster, having to lose weight," Hudson continued. "I gained so much -- I was 185 lbs at the end. You actually experience how much energy is stored in that and how much emotion you actually hold in that mass. It is emotional, no matter how determined you are. It takes work to bounce back so quickly."

Milano told the magazine that she kept her weight down this pregnancy by eating healthy foods.

Earlier in the month, Bellamy posted a photograph of Hudson cradling their one-month old son (see below) with the caption, "Family life!" In July, Bellamy also used Twitter to reveal their son's name.

"So happy! Just had a baby boy, Bingham 'Bing' Hawn Bellamy. Born 7lb 12oz, on 9th July," Bellamy wrote on the social networking site. Bellamy also explained the origin of the name, writing, "For those wondering, Bingham is my mum's maiden name and Bing Russell was Kurt [Russell]'s dad. Family connections all round!"

Hudson's mother Goldie Hawn also expressed her joy over the baby, writing on Twitter, "Thank you all for your good wishes for the birth of our grandson! We are over the moon! Kate and baby happy and healthy! Blessings abound."

Hudson, 32, first announced her pregnancy in January and became engaged to boyfriend Matthew Bellamy, the baby's father, in April.

It is the first child for Bellamy, the 33-year-old singer of the British alternative rock band Muse. The two have been linked together since early 2010. The couple has yet to announce a date for their wedding.

The actress had her 7-year-old son, Ryder, with ex-husband Chris Robinson of the rock band the Black Crowes. The two divorced in 2007 after almost seven years of marriage.

In June, the actress celebrated her upcoming birth with a baby shower that had a star-studded guest list.

Maya Angelou: Quote on MLK Jr. memorial makes him 'look like an arrogant twit'

Renowned poet Maya Angelou recently told The Washington Post her feelings about a new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in Washington D.C. - and they were less than complimentary.

The 30-foot statue has a quote inscribed on it, which reads, "I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness."

"The quote makes Dr. Martin Luther King look like an arrogant twit," says Angelou. "He was anything but that. He was far too profound a man for that four-letter word to apply."

The quote in context is King talking about his own eulogy, in a sermon he gave just a few months before he died. The full quote is as follows, "If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter."

Angelou insists that taking out the "if you want to say" part makes King sound conceited, as though he were praising himself. And not only did the memorial officials remove the "if you want to say" part, but they condensed the entire quote, which is not what the historians charged with choosing which quote should be on the memorial had in mind, as they chose the quote in its entirety.

The Post's Rachel Manteuffel also points out that the original sermon from which teh quote was taken is about the human desire to be at the front of the pack, but that that is folly. King acknowledges in the sermon he is just as prone to this weakness of wanting to be out front as everyone else, but hopes he'll be remembered for his causes, not seeking attention. The quote on the statue does not convey that message at all, when taken out of context and shortened.