Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are now suing the News of the World newspaper for the explosive Jan. 24 story that claimed the two were about to separate, reports the BBC.

The couple’s lawyer, Keith Schilling, issued a statement today calling the allegations in the original story “false and intrusive” and added the paper had failed to meet “reasonable demands” for an apology. No one from News of the World has commented, but the story has been removed from the paper’s site. – Ann Oldenburg

The Who’s Pete Townshend, 64, and Roger Daltrey, 65, performed a medley of hits at last night’s 12-minute, laser-lit Super Bowl halftime show.  According to AP, it was the first football game either of the Brits had seen.

“I thought it went OK,” Daltrey told ESPN. The rock star apparently wasn’t very pleased with the gig. “I understand. It’s a TV show. Cameras were everywhere,” he said. “I was so blinded that I couldn’t see.”

He added, “And I really wished the crowd would have gotten into singing the songs with us more. That’s how it is in Europe for our soccer matches. I wanted more banter.”

Townshend disagreed. “We were trying to put on a great show,” he said. “We had as much fun as we could have.”

While the San Diego Union says they sounded “pretty good,” there’s a lot of criticism out there this morning.  The Dallas Morning News says “the stage was the most exciting part of the show.”  The Chicago Sun-Times said they were “woefully flat and out of sync …”  And The Houston Chronicle noted:  “While Pete Townshend offered a succinct master class as to why he’s one of rock’s most important and innovative guitarists, the band’s set was shouty and reliant on its legend. It was the musical equivalent of having your food chewed for you, with six guys doing what four used to.” — Ann Oldenburg

“Brian Wood Month” has come to DC Comics, and it’s about time, since the Brooklyn writer is one of the most thoughtful and innovative in the industry these days. Wood, who’s known for carving out niches for himself and pushing boundaries with his creator-owned work, has a host of good stuff on the Vertigo imprint out in February. DMZ, Wood’s look at an embedded journalist on the frontlines of a second U.S. civil war, releases its special 50^th issue Wednesday. His Viking epic Northlanders celebrates 25 issues come Feb. 24 (the third collected volume of what he considers his finest work arrives in March). And for those who loved his fantastic and youth-oriented 2003-05 short-story series Demo — with art by fellow New Yorker Becky Cloonan — the first issue of the second volume is now in stores with a great tale of a sleep-deprived woman dreamily led to St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. (For fun, take a gander at Wood’s original Demo pitch dating back to 2002.) In addition, Wood, who wrote Generation X back in the day, returns to superheroes by taking on a DV8 miniseries for Wildstorm in April, a relaunch of the late 1990s title. The busy Wood took some time out to talk about his variety of books this week, so read below for his thoughts on returning to Demo, his plan for DV8 and what real Northlanders think of Northlanders.

Art courtesy of DC Comics

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After explaining his on-air insult to a Chicago reporter earlier this week as being a remark meant for his publicist, Gibson has addressed the topic while in France on his Edge of Darkness promotional tour.

While doing an interview on Wednesday, a journalist asked Mel, “Did you come prepared with French curse words for French journalists?”

“Non!” replied Gibson,  adding, “I mean no. It usually comes out in English if I’m angry. I have a short fuse. I’m trying to work on it.” – Ann Oldenburg

More new, old, never-before-seen shots of Marilyn Monroe have surfaced. Taken in a New York apartment nine months before she died, the photos were were unveiled today, after being held by photographer Len Steckler for 45 years.

On a wintry afternoon in December 1961, poet Carl Sandburg and Steckler waited in Steckler’s apartment for three hours for Monroe to arrive. She was late, she said,  because she had been at the hairdresser’s trying to get her hair white to match Sandburg’s. The two spent the  afternoon bonding over conversation and cocktails, fostering a new friendship while Steckler quietly observed, his Nikon loaded with black and white film.  Sandburg was 83. Monroe was 35.

Steckler is now offering the shots for sale as a limited edition series called “Marilyn Monroe: The Visit.” – Ann Oldenburg

Vampires have had their moment. Now it’s time for the greek gods to shine, according to Brandon T. Jackson, star of the new family adventure Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, in theaters next Friday. “With this and Clash of the Titans, I think we can really bring in that genre.” Directed by Chris Columbus, who helmed the first two Harry Potter movies, and based on the Rick Riordan book series, Percy Jackson stars Logan Lerman as the title character, a boy who discovers that he’s the son of Poseidon (Kevin McKidd), the god of the sea. He teams with his best friend Grover (Jackson), who’s a half-man, half-goat satyr, and Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), the daughter of Athena, in order to find the stolen lightning bolt of Zeus (Sean Bean) and prevent an all-out war of the gods. I talked with Jackson, a Detroit native and standup comedian who had a breakout role in 2008’s Tropic Thunder, for this weekend’s Who’s News page, but read below for more of the interview and check out an exclusive clip from Percy Jackson.

Photos courtesy of Fox

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All sorts of names are being tossed out as replacements for Simon Cowell on American Idol, but here’s an interesting one: Howard Stern.

“Sources” tell Page Six that Idol producers say Stern “is their top choice” to take over from Cowell, who leaves at the end of this season. – Ann Oldenburg

When a moviegoer thinks of Leonardo DiCaprio, a few things probably come to mind: sailing on a very big boat with Kate Winslet in Titanic, perhaps; inhabiting the ambition and eccentricity of Howard Hughes in The Aviator; or maybe going toe to toe with Jack Nicholson and a wicked Boston accent in The Departed. What you don’t know is that this serious actor can be a little silly off-screen, as he reveals in this weekend’s cover story. “I’m actually an incredible goofball,” he says. “I do imitations and joke around all day.” By now, he most likely has a decent imitation of iconic director Martin Scorsese, since the two have collaborated on Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed and Shutter Island, a thriller based on the Dennis Lehane novel that opens Feb. 19. Check out a montage of clips below from the movie, which also stars Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Williams and Max von Sydow.

Like many other NBC shows, Chuck will be going on a little mini hiatus with the nonstop Winter Olympics coverage starting on Feb. 12. But we’ve got an exclusive clip from Monday’s episode, the last before the Olympics begin. This past Monday’s episode saw everybody’s favorite nerdy super-spy (played by Zachary Levi) “burn” his first asset and veer a bit toward the dark side of espionage, and also entrench himself into what could be a love triangle with his handler Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) and new Buy More employee Hannah (guest star Kristin Kreuk). Chuck co-creator Josh Schwartz says that when the show returns from its break on March 1, it will continue to build on the emotional cost and the toll of Chuck becoming a spy, in terms of how it affects Sarah, his family and his own soul. “You’ll just see the stakes rising ever higher,” says Schwartz, who also created The O.C. and is an executive producer on Gossip Girl. Read below for more of our “state of the Chuck” conversation.

Photos courtesy of NBC

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There is the familiar Emile de Ravin (Lost) or Mary Lynn Rajskub (24) of primetime TV, but when it comes to thrillers, Kelli Giddish is just now making its appearance. Giddish, a Southerner and former regular on All My Children, stars in Fox’s new series Past Life. The pilot preview airs Tuesday night, and the show moves to its usual time slot on Thursday. Giddish plays Dr. Kate McGinn, a New York psychologist who uses her clients’ pasts to solve their present mysteries. After a past-life regression in her twenties, Dr. McGinn is a believer in reincarnation and the supernatural, working alongside partner Price Whatley (Nicolas Bishop), a former New York cop who doesn’t share her beliefs. Together, sparks fly between the two personalities as they work to use clients’ past lives to unravel present cases. Our Alyssa Bailey was on a conference call with Giddish the other day, so read below for her report.

Photos courtesy of Fox

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Pink fans, get ready: After her sky-twirling performance at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, Pink is set to appear tomorrow on live-in-Chicago Oprah Winfrey Show . 

She's going to play a special acoustic version of her hit I Don't Believe You and discuss her Grammy experience.

Jennifer Aniston is so proud of her home on a hillside overlooking Beverly Hills that she has opened its doors to be featured in Architectural Digest .

From the moment Aniston saw the house, she knew it was hers. Why? The dramatic, 14-foot-doors. "I can't tell you specifically the feeling I had when I walked through the doors for the first time, except to say I knew I was home."

The house, which Aniston calls Ohana, a reference to the Hawaiian idea of extended family, is the result of a two-year renovation project, the first time she has undertaken the creation of a large residence on her own. The result is an open, airy home that, she says, "has been inside me for a long time."

Aniston's favorite room? The kitchen, with its pizza oven and wine room. Much of the wood in the house, Aniston notes, was not cut but harvested from fallen trees—a nod to her desire to her desire for an eco-friendly environment. Extensive solar panels were also installed in the roof.  Among the other tweaks: A master bedroom suite originally had his-and-her baths, but Aniston has turned the "his" into a spa bath with a soaking tub.

And how does the actress describe the place? "It's like a big hug."

Did you hear Vice President Joe Biden tell Andrea Mitchell his pick to win the Oscar for best picture?

"I think one of the odds on favorites...is um, is uh, this uh, this, this, this new program that I looked at and wished I was seeing it in 3-D, and you sit there and you watch this science-fiction thing unfold in front of you..."

Here's the clip:

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Cybill Shepherd's son, Cyrus Shepherd-Oppenheim, appeared in court in Philadelphia today on charges he stole money and other items from fellow airline passengers, reports AP. 

The 22-year-old University of Pennsylvania student is accused of stealing cash, a camera and other items from carry-on luggage during a cross-country United Airlines flight last month. A judge set an April 20 trial date.

Casey Johnson's death was related to her lifelong battle with diabetes, reports AP .  The L.A. County Coroner says the cause of death was "Diabetic Ketoacidosis" and the manner of death was "natural."

Diabetic ketoacidosis is a life-threatening condition caused by lack of insulin and sky-high blood sugar. TMZ says the Coroner's findings show Johnson was not taking her insulin shots, was not exercising, did not follow her strict diet and was not taking other medicines she needed.

Just in: Brittany Murphy died from pneumonia, but anemia and prescription drugs also played a role, coroner's officials said today.

The primary cause of the death was community acquired pneumonia, with contributing factors of iron deficiency anemia and "multiple drug intoxication," according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

The death was ruled accidental, reports AP.

Coroner's spokesman Craig Harvey declined to specify what types of drugs were involved in Murphy's death but said they were all prescription medications. Details about the drugs in Murphy's system will be released in several weeks when a complete report is done.

It's called Red Carpet Furniture , "because it is a high-end outdoor furniture line, worthy of the red carpet," says Nancy O'Dell, who  launched her new  business venture this week.  There are three collections - Couture, Premiere and Classic and will be available in stores nationwide in late spring.

The former Access Hollywood host's  publicist tells USA Weekend's Brian Truitt that she's "still working" on her next broadcasting gig, but in the meantime she's in Miami now to host tonight's free  Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam bash concert on South Beach featuring Rihanna and Justin Bieber.

UPDATE: Nancy just signed a deal today to become the spokesperson for Rusk and Babyliss hair care products.

Carnie Wilson has always struggled with her weight.  She had gastric bypass surgery in 1999. Then went through two pregnancies, gaining 50 pounds each time. And even though she's starring her own reality show on GSN, Carnie Wilson: Unstapled , today she sits down with Dr. Oz on his show to talk about her food and alcohol addiction. 

Dr. Oz tells Carnie that's she's pre-diabetic. "I was actually in shock because I just had blood work done. All  that blood work came back normal. To this day I am not pre-diabetic," she said in a press call earlier this week. "If he wants to call me that, it's fine, but my glucose levels are at a normal range."

She says the show is "very dramatic," and "the fact that he had labeled me morbidly obese really shocked me."  But, she says, "Dr. Oz was one of the sweetest people I've ever met." 

She says, "When he walked in the dressing room, he took me and pulled me to him and hugged me and said we're going to change people's lives by doing this. Nobody's ever done that in that manner before. ...  I appreciate him not putting me on a pedestal. ... I'm jut very lucky to have him help me."

Jon Stewart sat down with Bill O'Reilly and surprised the Fox News show host with a serious answer about how President Obama is doing, "I can't tell if he's a Jedi master playing chess on a three-level board way ahead of us or if this is kicking his ass."

After another remark, O'Reilly commented: "That's another astute point. You've shocked me twice now."

Stewart did take one shot at O'Reilly, saying, "You have in some way become the voice of sanity here," though he added the compliment was "like being [called] the thinnest kid in fat camp."

You can see clips here . Part two of their conversation airs tonight on The O'Reilly Factor at 8 p.m.

Cody Linley is preparing for his swan song on Hannah Montana , while at the same time prepping for his first appearance on Broadway.

Filming for the final season of the Disney Channel series has begun and Linley will film his part Feb. 22.  Season four of Hannah Montana premieres in July.

"I play Jake Ryan, Miley Cyrus' on-again, off-again boyfriend on the show and for Season 4 I'm coming back for one final episode for extra drama, excitement, surprises and stuff," he tells USA TODAY's Mike Snider.  "That's about all I can say about it because I'm not allowed to say what actually happens in the episode but it's going to be fun. Fans of the show will really respond to it. Jake and Miley have been together for a long time. It's kind of like a final meet-up and drama happens."

A Dancing With the Stars Season 7 semi-finalist, Linley, who is 20, is also preparing for a part in Over Here , which plays in Beverly Hills, Calif., in March before moving to Broadway in June. "It's a 1940s musical. I play Bill, a young soldier going off to war," he says. "I did theater in elementary and middle school here and there. But I have never done a musical in my entire life and I have never done Broadway. This is just super exciting and a dream of mine come true."

To read more of Mike's interview with Cody, in which he talks about his favorite video games, and the new Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll for the Nintendo Wii,  head over to the Game Hunters blog .