Buzz Briefs: Angelina Jolie, Kathy Bates

Will Angelina Make A Brief Return The Big Screen?

Angelina Jolie, who has been lying low since the birth of her 5-month-old twins, is thinking about a brief return to film, but very brief.

The "Changeling" star and mother of six - twins Vivienne and Knox were born last July - says she'll be in front of the camera early this year. The 33-year-old actress didn't say what projects she may be working on.

"I have had a year off, and I may work for a few months," Jolie says. "But if I do, I'm probably going to take another year and a half or two. I'm going to work a lot less."

Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt attended the 14th annual Critics' Choice Awards at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on Thursday night.

Kathy Bates Reveals Her Victory In Cancer Battle

More than five years after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Kathy Bates is going public to say she's now cancer-free.

Bates told NBC's "Today" show that she's been "in total remission" for five and a-half years.

She says she kept her diagnosis a secret because she "just needed to go through it." She wouldn't even let her friends come with her to her chemotherapy treatments.

She now regrets staying silent and has taped a PSA for the Ovarian Cancer Foundation. She urges women to get tested because "early detection is the key." She says she was "so lucky to find it early."

Keith Urban To Perform Daytona 500 Pre-Race Show

Grammy Award winner and country music superstar Keith Urban is at it again.

He will perform at the Daytona 500 Pre-Race Show, the pre-race extravaganza leading up to the start of the prestigious "Great American Race" at Daytona International Speedway, on Sunday, February 15th.

Urban is set to perform three of his eight #1 songs prior to the 51st annual Daytona 500 - the season-opening event to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

All race fans that purchase a Pre-Race access pass for the Daytona 500 will be in for a treat. They will be able to view Urban's show as well as the driver introductions from the grass tri-oval area.

Merle Haggard: Green Or Not, Don't Use My Name!

Country star Merle Haggard has sued an environmental awareness group, claiming it illegally used his name and likeness to raise money.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Chancery Court against the Green Train, a Nashville-based organization, and its founder, Robert K. Wolf. It seeks unspecified compensatory damages.

Haggard claims in the lawsuit that the group forged his signature and exaggerated his involvement with the organization to solicit money. The Bakersfield, Calif. native says his reputation could be irreparably harmed by continued association with the group.

The Green Train bills itself as a nonprofit that educates the public about environmental issues. Its concert-and-train tour scheduled to depart Portland, Ore., in April and travel through 28 states on a six-week whistle-stop tour with several concerts along the way before ending in Washington D.C.

BET Has Atlanta Put On Their "Sunday Best"

Gospel singers yearning for a recording contract will have a chance to earn one.

BET's television show "Sunday Best" will kick off its four-city tour in Atlanta, searching for the next person who is looking to claim the title as America's next great gospel singer. Other tour locations include Chicago, Washington and Dallas.

The show, which will enter its second season, is hosted by gospel artist Kirk Franklin along with judges that includes Erica and Tina Campbell of singing group Mary Mary and Grammy-winning singer BeBe Winans.

Open auditions will begin on Saturday and will be held throughout the weekend at the Georgia World Congress Center. The show airs on March 8.

Jan. 8, 2009

Regis Philbin: Not A Winner, But Wallet Is Thicker

Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa lost the People's Choice Award for favorite talk show host, but Philbin still came out a winner. He won $100 from Ripa.

Phiblin had bet Ripa $100 in singles that they'd lose the award. He held out his hand on "Live With Regis and Kelly," saying "I want it right here, baby."

Even though they have a history of losing various types of awards for best talk show host, Ripa thought they could win this one because she urged their fans to vote. She says she's "not really bummed out about losing," she's bummed out about paying Philbin the money.

Jackie Chan's New Movie Raises Flags In China

A Hong Kong movie company announced the Asian release dates for Jackie Chan's new Chinese-language film -- except in China, where its subject matter may have raised flags for the country's movie censors.

"Shinjuku Incident," which features Chan as a refugee who escapes to Japan and becomes a killer for the mob, will be released in Hong Kong and southeast Asia on April 2 and in Japan on May 1, Emperor Motion Pictures said in a statement.

But the statement didn't announce the release date in mainland China, a key market for the movie.

The film may have concerned China's censors because it touches on two known taboo subjects for Chinese films: gangsters and Japan. It also casts Chan, a national icon in China, as a villain.