President Obama is turning to a handful of Hollywood stars to judge a contest that asks grassroots supporters to create a television commercial promoting health care reform.

Musician Will.I.Am, actor John Cho, actress Rosario Dawson, actor Dulé Hill, “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane, actor Brandon Routh, actress Kate Walsh and actress Olivia Wilde will join Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine, DNC Executive Director Jen O’Malley Dillon, Rep. Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe and volunteers in helping to pick the 30-second commercial that will air nationally, a DNC official tells CNN.

The contest is being run by Obama’s political arm – Organizing for America – which is housed at DNC headquarters in Washington, DC. It is the latest effort by the president’s political team to try and enlist the grassroots to help pressure Congress to pass health care reform this year.

“We know that compelling videos can touch people in a way that words alone simply cannot,” Natalie Foster, OFA’s new media director, said in an e-mail announcing the contest last week. “The messages that regular people put together will make a bigger difference than any false smears or slick ads the other side can dream up. And who knows — your creative, powerful, or touching video could help tip the balance in favor of health reform.”

OFA will officially announce the names of the judges late Wednesday morning. The contest ends October 18.

From CNN

There is a chance that “Sin City 2″ will kick off its production in 2010. The possibility has been thrown in by the star of “Sin City”, Clive Owen, himself when MTV caught up with him at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival while promoting his new film “The Boys Are Back”.

Asked whether a sequel is indeed in the horizon, the 44-year-old quickly responded, “I’m hearing it might be next year,” before adding, “I heard that from a very good source…recently.” Pressed further from whom he heard the news, the leading man of “The International” coyly suggested that he may hear it from either Frank Miller or Robert Rodriguez.

The story of “Sin City 2″ may likely come from Frank Miller’s “A Dame to Kill For”, which has been long rumored to be adapted into big screen. The novel itself tells an earlier story of Dwight McCarthy that is portrayed by Clive Owen. Director Robert Rodriguez previously stated that the sequel would blend old “Sin City” element with new story lines by Miller.

Rodriguez and Miller will team up to direct the movie. Some of the original cast who will reprise their roles include Rosario Dawson, Jessica Alba, Brittany Murphy, Mickey Rourke and Michael Clarke Duncan. The release date is also still to be determined, but it is believed to take place in 2010.

From Ace Showbiz

There is a new teaser trailer out for “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief”… You can check it out below or at Youtube.

“Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” will be released to theaters on February 12, 2010.

Americans for the Arts will present its 2009 National Arts Awards on Monday, October 5 at Cipriani Wall Street, according to Variety.

Stage veteran and Oscar-winning actor and director Robert Redford will receive the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Actress Rosario Dawson — who appeared in the Public Theater’s production of Two Gentlemen of Verona and played Mimi in the film version of Rent — will receive the group’s Young Artist Award.

Awards will also be presented to author Salman Rushdie, artist Ed Ruscha, philanthropist Sidney Harman, and Bank of America executive Anne Finucane.

From Theater Mania

Americans for the Arts, the leading organization for advancing the arts in America, announces recipients of the 2009 National Arts Awards. The annual awards recognize those artists and arts leaders who exhibit exemplary national leadership and whose work demonstrates extraordinary artistic achievement. They are organizations and individuals—artists, business leaders, and patrons—who understand that the arts enrich people and communities alike.

This year, the following will be honored:

Robert Redford, Lifetime Achievement Award
Salman Rushdie, Kitty Carlisle Hart Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts
Ed Ruscha, Artistic Excellence Award
Sidney Harman, Frederick R. Weisman Award for Philanthropy in the Arts
Rosario Dawson, Young Artist Award for Artistic Excellence
Anne Finucane, Bank of America, Corporate Citizenship in the Arts Award

Rosario Dawson, Young Artist Award for Artistic Excellence
As a critically-acclaimed actress, producer, and co-founder of the nonprofit organization Voto Latino, Rosario Dawson is making both meaningful art and a lasting difference. Discovered as a teenager and cast in the controversial hit Kids, Ms. Dawson has emerged as one of Hollywood’s most sought after leading ladies, yet remains a dedicated advocate for young people. She recently starred in Eagle Eye, Grindhouse, Rent, Seven Pounds, and Sin City. In 2004, she co-founded Voto Latino, a nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to increase American Latino youth civic participation by both increasing voter turnout and political involvement among this group.

From Art Daily

Salma Hayek, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem will all be honoured at next month’s Alma Awards.

The show, which takes place in Los Angeles in September 17, will be hosted by comedian George Lopez and Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria Parker, who also serves as executive producer.

Other honourees at the ceremony, which celebrates Latino achievement in entertainment, will include John Leguizamo and Rosario Dawson.

Salma will be given the Anthony Quinn Award for Industry Excellence.

Performers on the night will include David Archuleta, Nelly Furtado, Selena Gomez, Sean Kingston, Pitbull and Luis Fonsi.

Adam Rodriguez, Benjamin Bratt, Michelle Rodriguez, Oscar Nunez and Rey Mysterio are among the show’s presenters.

The Alma Awards were created in 1995 by the National Council of La Raza, a national Latino civil rights and advocacy organisation, as part of its effort to promote diverse and fair portrayals of Latinos in the media.

Alma stands for American Latino Media Arts and also means “soul” in Spanish.

From the Press Association

Rosario Dawson will star alongside Denzel Washington and Chris Pine in Fox’s runaway train drama “Unstoppable,” directed by Tony Scott.

Dawson just wrapped Chris Columbus film “Percy Jackson” and is currently shooting “Zookeeper” opposite Kevin James for MGM and Sony. She was last seen in “Seven Pounds” with Will Smith.

Washington formally withdrew from “Unstoppable” in early July, then came to terms two weeks later to put the pic back on track for a fall start. He’s playing a veteran engineer who jumps into a locomotive with a young conductor (Pine) to stop an unmanned runaway train loaded with toxic cargo.

Julie Yorn is producing with Scott and Mimi Rogers, and Chris Ciaffa is exec producer. The script, penned by Mark Bomback, is loosely inspired by true events.

Dawson is repped by ICM and Untitled Entertainment.

From Variety

Stalled for years due to studio shuffles, Rob Zombie’s adult-oriented, animated adaptation of his “Haunted World of El Superbeasto” comic book was originally tagged for straight-to-DVD release, but now could enjoy a run in theaters, according to the musician/filmmaker.

“It started as a really cheap direct-to-video project, and then it kept ballooning over the years and the budget kept getting bigger and bigger, and the project kept getting bigger and bigger, and bigger names kept coming on to it,” Zombie told MTV News. “And then it seemed like, ‘Well, now it seems theatrical.’”

Featuring the voices of Paul Giamatti, Brian Posehn, Danny Trejo and Rosario Dawson, “El Superbeasto” follows a super-powered Mexican luchador (voiced by Tom Papa) and his sultry sidekick/sister Suzi-X (Sheri Moon Zombie) as they battle the evil Dr. Satan (Paul Giamatti).

The adults-only film has had a troubled path to the screen—big or small—as Zombie explained, “the company kept changing hands. We started with one company, they got sold to another, and they got sold to another company…”

“I’m actually glad it happened that way,” explained Zombie. “The movie went from costing $1 million dollars to $8 million, and we got to make an awesome movie, so I don’t really care how it gets out there. Theatrical would be great, and I think they’re talking now about doing a limited theatrical run, so that would be cool.”

“El Superbeasto” is currently scheduled to arrive on DVD and Blu-Ray September 22.

From MTV