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The ongoing question about what will ultimately happen to Michael Jackson's three children remains unresolved, and now there is a new twist: Janet has reportedly stepped forward as a potential guardian for Prince Michael, Paris and Prince Michael II. When the custody hearing — rescheduled for next month — finally occurs, it will resolve the divide between Debbie Rowe (who mothered the two oldest children) and Janet, Katherine and Rebbie Jackson. Michael's will states that Katherine (his mother) should get custody of the three kids, with a provision that if she was unable to or not alive, Diana Ross could do the job as well. But there is concern over Katherine's ability to raise her grandchildren, especially considering the upbringing that her own children received and her age.

Janet has no children of her own but clearly has a relationship with Michael's kids — just observe how she comforted Paris after her emotional speech at Michael's memorial service. It's unclear whether or not she would even be allowed to take the kids, but we hit the streets and asked: Would Janet Jackson make a good mother to Michael's children?

As police make plans to conduct a second interview with Michael Jackson's doctor, the autopsy on the singer began Friday morning to determine the cause of his mysterious death, with Los Angeles County's top medical examiner conducting the procedure himself.

Jackson, 50, was declared dead at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on Thursday afternoon after suffering a cardiac arrest in his home. His body was airlifted across town to the offices of the Los Angeles coroner for the autopsy that began fewer than 24 hours later.

Police already interviewed the physician who was present with Jackson at the time he was stricken, and contrary to reports the doctor "is not a missing person," says LAPD spokeswoman Officer Karen Rayner. The doctor "needs to be interviewed further," but the interview "just has not happened yet," she said. The doctor's car was impounded because "it contains potential information, medications or other evidence," she added.

At the coroner's office, Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran, who has handled the high-profile O.J. Simpson and Phil Specter murder cases, was conducting the autopsy, which should take several hours, according to Ed Winter, chief of investigations for the coroner's office.

Given allegations of possible prescription drug abuse by the entertainer, a final determination of the cause of death will likely have to await toxicology tests, which can take days or weeks.

Michael Jackson was pronounced dead this afternoon, the Los Angeles Times reported. The pop star arrived at a hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told the Times.

Jackson was rushed to a hospital in Los Angeles after he suffered a heart attack. Paramedics administered CPR in the ambulance, according to TMZ.

TMZ reported that the call to 9-1-1 came in about 12:21 p.m. P.S.T. (3:21 p.m. Eastern) from Jackson's home in Los Angeles.

Capt. Steve Ruda of the Los Angeles Fire Department said Jackson was not breathing when paramedics arrived, the Los Angeles Times reported. The singer was taken to UCLA Medical Center.

The singer's 50-show residency at London's O2 Arena is supposed to kick off July 13.

Oscar organizers on Wednesday unveiled plans to expand their list of best film nominees to 10 from five, broadening the group of contenders for the world's top film honors. The Beverly Hills-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which gives out the Oscars, or Academy Awards, annually honors the best movies, actors, actresses, directors and other filmmakers in a gala ceremony that is watched by tens of millions of people around the world.

Sexy? Yes. Megan Fox says it's part of "Transformers"

LOS ANGELES - Two years ago few people knew her face, much less her name. But now Megan Fox of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," is among Hollywood's hottest actresses whose sex appeal has won millions of fans. While many of the 23-year-old's peers might want to avoid the label "sex symbol" for fear it would obscure their acting talent, Fox, whose new "Transformers" sequel debuts in theaters on Wednesday, is just the opposite.
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Paisley considers "Then" and now on new album

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - In a scene that evokes visions of a backwoods Brill Building, several of Nashville's top songwriters have retreated to a rural outpost to write what they hope will be country radio hits. Their ringleader is Brad Paisley, who, with his co-writers, worked on songs for his new album, "American Saturday Night," in the guest house on his farm outside Nashville. Paisley has horses, cows and a couple of ponds on the property, where Grand Ole Opry star and Paisley's friend Little Jimmy Dickens comes over to fish. "It's a great place to get away," Paisley says. "You're nowhere near Music Row. We called it 'the dream factory' there for a while."

Daniel Craig eyes psychological thriller

NEW YORK - Daniel Craig can shake, but can he stir? The latest James Bond has proved a critical and commercial success in his two turns in the iconic role, for "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace." But he has been deliberate in choosing his next live-action role.

"Friends" stars reunite online

LOS ANGELES - A "Friends" reunion of sorts is coming to the Internet courtesy of Lexus. The carmaker is launching a second season of "Web Therapy," an online comedy series starring Lisa Kudrow for its branded-entertainment network, L Studio. Returning June 23, "Therapy" will feature Kudrow's fellow "Friends" alum Courteney Cox as a guest star. Don Roos directs.

Sarah Jessica Parker has twins via surrogate

NEW YORK - "Sex and the City" actress Sarah Jessica Parker and her actor husband Matthew Broderick had twin daughters via a surrogate mother, the couple's publicists said on Tuesday. Parker, 44, and Broderick, 47, who already have a six-year-old son said their daughters -- named Marion Loretta Elwell and Tabitha Hodge -- were born on Monday in Ohio.

"Jon & Kate" breakup wins large TV audience

LOS ANGELES - If misery loves company, then reality TV couple Jon and Kate Gosselin had plenty of both Monday night when millions of viewers watched on television as the parents of eight announced they were breaking up. Cable channel TLC, which airs reality show "Jon & Kate Plus 8," on Tuesday said that the previous night's episode attracted its biggest prime-time audience ever at 10.6 million total viewers with 6.5 million of those in the key 18-49 age group, a demographic sought by advertisers.

Heather Graham, Johnny Knoxville join Spacey film

LOS ANGELES - Kevin Spacey will star in and produce "Father of Invention," an ensemble comedy whose cast includes Heather Graham as a lesbian who sleeps with his character. The story follows a humble inventor-turned-egomaniacal billionaire (Spacey) who spends eight years in prison when one of his inventions goes awry. Upon release, he is seeks to rebuild his reputation and fortune but finds that easier than salvaging his relationship with his family.

Beastie Boys pouring "Hot Sauce" on September 15

NEW YORK (Billboard) - The Beastie Boys have confirmed that their eighth studio album, "Hot Sauce Committee Part 1," will be released September 15 by Capitol. The set will include 17 tracks, including "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win" featuring Santigold and "Too Many Rappers" featuring Nas, which the artists performed together at the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tenn. on June 12. The album will be available in multiple configurations, including a 5.1 surround mix.

Ed McMahon dies at 86

LOS ANGELES - Ed McMahon, a fixture on U.S. late-night television for 30 years as the full-throated announcer and sidekick for Johnny Carson on NBC's "The Tonight Show," died on Tuesday at 86 after battling a series of illnesses in recent months. The veteran TV personality best known for his nightly introduction of Carson in a deep, booming voice with the drawn-out line, "Heeeeeeeeere's Johnny!" died at a Los Angeles-area hospital, and was immediately hailed by friends and former colleagues as an icon of American popular culture.

Comedy, whether it's romantic or raunchy, innocent or goofy, is on a roll at the the box office and helped end a three-week mini-slump for the industry.

Thanks to the surprising strength of Disney's "The Proposal" and the solid opening of Sony's "Year One," this weekend's box office was up almost 3% over the same weekend a year ago. That ended three weekends of negative results in comparison to last June. And with "Transformers" and the latest "Harry Potter" on the way, box-office watchers can put away the Advil for now.

It wasn't just the new comedies driving attendance this weekend. "The Hangover" is still packing a punch for Warner Bros. three weeks after it opened, taking in $26.9 million, according to Hollywood.com. Disney/Pixar's "Up" raked in another $21.3 million, and with $224.1 million total box office, it already has passed "Wall-E" in U.S. box office in just four weeks.

"Comedy is on an extreme roll," said Chuck Viane, president of distribution for Walt Disney Studios. Unless, of course, you used to work on "Saturday Night Live." Eddie Murphy's "Imagine That" took in only $3.1 million for Paramount in its second weekend while Will Ferrell's "Land of the Lost" pulled in just $4 million for Universal Pictures in its third week of release.

Viane said the $34.1 million that "The Proposal" earned was, to put it mildly, a surprise. "We never expected to double the best Sandra Bullock movie ever ["Premonition"]. Most industry estimates for the movie, which also may move Bullock's costar Ryan Reynolds into leading-man status, had it opening in the mid-$20-million range.

As expected, the audience for "The Proposal" was mostly female. But Viane said he expected that to change in the weeks ahead. "More and more guys are hearing how funny it is and are going along for the ride."

The other big comedy premiere, Sony's "Year One," starring Jack Black and Michael Cera as odd-couple cavemen, did a respectable $20.2 million, which was in line with industry projections. Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution at Sony Pictures Entertainment, said he was surprised that 53% of the audience for "Year One" was over 21. "We thought it would play much younger than it did," he said, adding that $20.2 million is "a good start for us and in the range we were expecting."

Here are the top 10 films at the domestic box office this weekend, according to studio estimates and Hollywood.com:

1. "The Proposal" (Disney): Opened to $34.1 million.

2. "The Hangover" (Warner Bros./Legendary): $26.9 million, down only 18%. Domestic total: $152.9 million.

3. "Up" (Disney/Pixar): $21.3, off just 31%. Domestic total: $224.1 million

4. "Year One" (Sony/Columbia Pictures): Opened to $20.2 million

5."Taking of Pelham 123" (Sony/Columbia Pictures): $11.3 million, a 52% drop from its opening weekend. Domestic total: $43.3 million.

6. "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" (Fox): $7.3 million, down 24%. Domestic total: $156 million.

7. "Star Trek" (Paramount/Spyglass): $4.7 million, down 14%. Domestic total: $239.4 million.

8. "Land of the Lost" (Universal): $4 million, down 56%. Domestic total: $43.7 million.

9. "Imagine That" (Paramount): $3.1 million, down 44%. Domestic total: $11.3 million.

10. "Terminator: Salvation" (Warner Bros./Halcyon): $3.1 million, down 36%. Domestic total: $119.5 million

Following the recent jury decision against alleged file sharer Jammie Thomas, in which the woman was fined $80,000 USD for each of the 24 songs she shared via P2P, the popular artist Moby has written a blog entry claiming the RIAA "should be disbanded" for using the wrong techniques against people who are just trying to listen to music.

His full post:

"The riaa have sued Jammie Thomas-Rasset of minnesota for $2,000,000 for illegally downloading music.

argh. what utter nonsense. this is how the record companies want to protect themselves? suing suburban moms for listening to music? charging $80,000 per song?

punishing people for listening to music is exactly the wrong way to protect the music business. maybe the record companies have adopted the 'it's better to be feared than respected' approach to dealing with music fans. i don't know, but 'it's better to be feared than respected' doesn't seem like such a sustainable business model when it comes to consumer choice. how about a new model of 'it's better to be loved for helping artists make good records and giving consumers great records at reasonable prices'?

i'm so sorry that any music fan anywhere is ever made to feel bad for making the effort to listen to music.

the riaa needs to be disbanded."

Sandra Bullock took the crown at the weekend box office in North America for the first time in 10 years with her latest romantic comedy, according to preliminary sales data issued Saturday.

"The Proposal" sold $12.4 million worth of tickets across the United States and Canada Friday, said Walt Disney Co.'s Touchstone Pictures.

The film ended the two-week reign of the bachelor-party comedy "The Hangover," which earned $8.5 million Friday, according to Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros. Pictures.

Also reporting $8.5 million was the new Jack Black prehistoric comedy "Year One," which was released by Sony Corp's Columbia Pictures.

A clearer picture will emerge Sunday when the studios issue three-day estimates.

Bullock, 44, stars in "The Proposal" as a book executive who fakes an engagement to her lowly assistant (Ryan Reynolds) to avoid deportation to her native Canada. Inevitable hilarity ensues when she meets his parents. Reviews were mixed at best.

She last went to No. 1 in 1999 with "Forces of Nature," which co-starred Ben Affleck. Her most recent wide releases, 2007's "Premonition" and 2006's "The Lake House," ended their runs with about $50 million each. She generally does better with romantic comedies such as "Miss Congeniality" ($107 million) and "Two Weeks Notice" ($93 million).

Diamond jewels worth around 250,000 pounds ($410,000) have gone missing after a London photo shoot involving U.S. actress Lindsay Lohan, her U.S. spokeswoman and British police said Tuesday.

British media said the jewels were made by Dior and loaned to Elle magazine for the shoot in north London on June 6.

"Officers from Westminster police are investigating an allegation of theft of jewelry from studios in Brewery Road, Islington," the police said in a statement.

They did not name Lohan, but the statement was issued in response to a query about the 22-year-old actress.

"The theft was reported to a central London police station on 8 June 2009 after earrings and a necklace, believed to be diamond and estimated to be worth in the region of 250,000 pounds, were found to be missing approximately two days earlier."

The police said there had been no arrests, and that they would be interviewing several people in connection with their inquiry.

A spokeswoman for Lohan, who is trying to rebound from recent troubles that included a 2007 drink driving conviction, acknowledged the probe.

But she added that there were some 20 people at the photo shoot, Lohan was not being investigated personally and she had not yet been questioned by police.

"No one has contacted us" about it, said the spokeswoman.

With more than 9,000 voters piping in, Adam Lambert has a substantial lead over Kris Allen (68% vs 32%) in our poll asking this question: Which "American Idol" contestant will win more showbiz awards?

"This article is ludicrous!" cried a reader in the comments section of one of our "American Idol"-Grammy pieces. "Mr. O'Neil, if your intent was to rile everyone up, then you succeeded," fumes another reader.

Those outcries are typical of many comments by posters furious — or baffled — by us daring to ask such a question. What's the problem? Isn't "American Idol" everyman's equivalent to the Grammys? The TV singing contest purports to tell us what average folk think of these performers. Why can't we compare them to the winners of the industry's Grammy?

On one hand, the pondering might reveal who'll win "Idol." Carrie Underwood is a fine example of someone who's won both contests. She's claimed four Grammys over all, including one of the top four prizes: best new artist. Maybe Kelly Clarkson too — she's won two Grammys in the pop categories.

However, success at one music contest doesn't necessarily mean payoff at the other. Among "Idol" losers, Jennifer Hudson has not only won a Grammy but an Oscar too. Chris Daughtry's self-titled band hasn't won a Grammy, but it has scored four nominations.

But that's not what has gotten Gold Derby readers so riled up. It's that we had the audacity to ask: Is it possible for Allen to win "Idol" but Lambert to have the most enduring music career as measured by showbiz awards? Scroll through the comments in response and you'll see such outcries as "This is the stupidest article!"

Our posters also popped their cyber-corks when we had the audacity to wonder: Will Adam Lambert turn out to be a loser after winning 'American Idol'? Scroll through the comments section and you'll see this doozy reply: "This is the most biased and ridiculous article I have read all day." Another poster harrumphs in a grammatically challenged way: "You sure got a lot of hate, didn't you?"

While we compare how America's Grammys have fared opposite the music biz's Grammys, it's relevant to explore how the "American Idol" TV show has fared when judged by the TV industry's highest honor: the Emmy.

Answer: not well. "American Idol" keeps winning TV's Nielsen contest. It's not only TV's top-rated reality show, it's the tube's most-watched show, period, but it's lost the Emmy for best reality competition show six times to "Amazing Race." It's also lost 32 other Emmy contests. Its only victories were in crafts categories and, since one of those (best technical direction, 2007) was for the "Idol Gives Back" TV special, that means that the actual weekly TV series has won only one Emmy (best picture editing, 2008).

If you haven't yet voted in at our poll, pipe in here.