Precious director Lee Daniels has found his Martin Luther King. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Daniels has cast British actor David Oyelowo in the role of the civil rights leader in Selma. Oyelowo, who’ll next be seen in George Lucas‘ Red Tails and who has had roles in The Last King of Scotland and The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, will star opposite Hugh Jackman, who is signed to play the racist sheriff who tries to stop the marches. The part of Alabama Gov. George Wallace is still open. – Ann Oldenburg

Looking for a vampire story with some real bite? Then, boys and girls, Scott Snyder has a comic book for you. His American Vampire series debuts in comic shops today, and Snyder’s taking literary royalty along for one bloody good ride. The master of horror himself, Stephen King is writing a backup story in each of the first five issues of the Vertigo Comics title, which introduces the first American vampire: an ornery outlaw from the Old West named Skinner Sweet, who’s a far cry from the likes of Twilight’s Edward Cullen. Featuring art by Rafael Albuquerque, American Vampire will follow the bloodsucking bloodline as it moves through U.S. history, one decade at a time, in each multiple-issue “season”: The locale for Snyder’s main story over the first five issues is Jazz Age Hollywood, where an up-and-coming starlet named Pearl in the 1920s runs into the wrong sort of folks. “The idea of the series is to try and investigate a little bit what is heroic and monstrous about the American character at different points in history,” Snyder says. “It will trace the bloodline up to present time, and also go back and explore why these vampires we’ve become so familiar with – the nocturnal, Eurocentric ones — has become the dominant one.” I talked with Snyder about American Vampire, working with King and what kind of horrors pop culture has been missing, so read below for the Q&A.

Art courtesy of DC/Vertigo Comics

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Just announced: The Eagles, Dixie Chicks and Keith Urban will be touring together for the first time. They will hit the road on June 8 for a North American tour that kicks off in Toronto. Even though two-thirds of the Chicks — Emily Robison and Martie Maguire — are making their stage debut as a duo at SXSW on Thursday as the Court Yard Hounds, Natalie Maines will be joining them for this tour, meaning the Dixie Chicks will hit the stage for the first time in four years. American Express card holders will have early access to tickets beginning Monday at 10:00 a.m., and tickets go on sale to the public Monday, March 29, at 10:00 AM.  Check www.LiveNation.com for information and to see which dates will feature Keith Urban (he won’t be at all of them). – Ann Oldenburg

After almost seven years of marriage, Kate Winslet and director Sam Mendes are splitting. Last year, Mendes was at Winslet’s side as she won an Oscar, after five previous nominations, for her performance in The Reader. But this year the actress attended the awards ceremony alone. “Kate and Sam are saddened to announce that they separated earlier this year,” their lawyers said in a statement today. “The split is entirely amicable and is by mutual agreement. Both parties are fully committed to the future joint parenting of their children.” Winslet, 34, and Mendes, 44, were married in 2003. They have a son, Joe, 6. Winslet also has a daughter, Mia, 9, from her first marriage to Jim Threapleton. – Ann Oldenburg

Just in: Taking the stage on this week’s American Idol results show on Wednesday at 9 will be pop sensations Ke$ha and Orianthi. Ke$ha will sing Blah Blah Blah, and Orianthi performs According to You.  On Tuesday, promises Fox, a new Idol stage will be revealed as the Top 12 singers take on The Rolling Stones. What songs do you think will work for this group? – Ann Oldenburg

June 30 can’t come quickly enough for fans of the Twilight movie franchise — that’s when Eclipse is released in theaters, and the first time a Twilight movie debuts in the busy summer movie season. The third book in Stephenie Meyer’s romantic vampire book series is more action-packed than the first two, but the first movie trailer for Eclipse puts the emphasis on the love triangle between Bella (Kirsten Stewart), vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson) and werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner). In Eclipse, directed by David Slade (30 Days of Night), Bella weighs becoming a bloodsucker and remaining with Edward forever or staying human and being with Jacob, while rivals Edward and Jacob engage in a tenuous truce and rally the troops when the redheaded vampire Victoria (played by Bryce Dallas Howard) comes looking for vengeance against Bella. (For those who missed the last Twilight film, New Moon — or if you can’t wait to see it again — it arrives on DVD and Blu-ray in stores next Saturday, March 20.) What do you think of the first look audiences have had of Eclipse? Comment and let us know your thoughts.

Photo by Kimberley French

After years of powerslamming foes as a champion pro wrestler and then getting into acting, Bill Goldberg has shifted his career into another gear. A vintage car collector, Goldberg hosts the Speed channel’s network reality show Bullrun on Thursday nights, and takes over Garage Mahal in its second season starting April 9 on DIY Network. He crosses the country giving people the coolest garage renovations ever, and his first client is a doozy: fellow automobile connoisseur and Tonight Show host Jay Leno and his six-car, three-room garage. Most notably, however, starting Sunday night he joins the new season of Donald Trump’s The Celebrity Apprentice on NBC along with 13 other personalities, from Bret Michaels and Cyndi Lauper to Sinbad and disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. If he wasn’t busy enough, Goldberg’s joined Twitter to chronicle his many pursuits, and he has teamed with Ford for Operation Drive One, a campaign that will showcase high-performance sports cars and other entertainment to troops and their families stationed in 10 military bases starting April 24 at Fort Sill in Lawton, Okla. “I’m just trying to squeeze as many things into a 24-hour period of time as humanly possible,” Goldberg says. For the rundown on his vehicular holy grail, his Apprentice experience and if he misses wrestling, read below for our conversation and check out a clip from Sunday’s season premiere of The Celebrity Apprentice.

Photos courtesy of NBC, DIY, WCW

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“It’s not about an obsession with fame,” Kate Gosselin tells People regarding her decision to join Dancing With The Stars. “It’s about doing what provides for my family. Period.” She adds, “If I was financially able to provide for eight kids (twins Cara and Mady, 9, and sextuplets Aaden, Alexis, Collin, Hannah, Joel and Leah, 5) on my former salary as a nurse, I would do it…but that’s not possible…I cannot rely on the fact that Jon will be there to help support the kids, so I approach it as if I am the sole provider.” Meanwhile, Kate’s already got a new short haircut. – Ann Oldenburg

The Real Housewives are coming to Beverly Hills, reports USA TODAY’s Gary Levin. Bravo today announced a sixth version of its successful reality franchise, due next year, joining existing series in Orange County, Calif., New York, Atlanta, New Jersey and an upcoming edition set in Washington. The network is also expanding to a fifth night of original programming — it won’t say which night — to join its Monday-to-Thursday lineup, and is developing a docu-series about So You Think You Can Dance choreographer Mia Michaels and scripted dramas including one from Darren Star (Sex and the City) about a New York “power broker” who leads a double life as a nighttime drag queen. – Ann Oldenburg

Corey Haim’s mother, Judy Haim, told RadarOnline.com in an interview this morning that she is battling cancer. “I am a cancer victim and Corey was helping me at home,” Haim told Radar at the apartment where Corey collapsed and died early Wednesday of an apparent accidental overdose. “He was a good boy. I’m devastated by his death.” Haim had been suffering from flu-like symptoms for several days before finally stumbling in front of his mother at her Los Angeles apartment early Wednesday morning, a coroner spokesman confirms. Haim was recently seen with his 1987 Lost Boys co-star and pal Corey Feldman on A&E’s The Two Coreys, which aired in 2007.  “As he got out of bed, he felt a little weak and went down to the floor on his knees,” Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter told AP. His mother called paramedics. – Ann Oldenburg

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences executive director Bruce Davis has apologized for omitting Farrah Fawcett, Bea Arthur, Gene Barry and anyone else who didn’t make Sunday night’s Oscar show In Memoriam segment. Davis told AP that after much discussion by the committee, Fawcett and Barry were both omitted. Davis and his colleagues thought that while the two actors appeared in movies, they were better known for their “remarkable television work” and would be more appropriately honored by the television academy at the Emmy Awards. When asked why Michael Jackson was included when actors were left out, Davis, who has helped assemble the montage since 1993, explained that Jackson had appeared in a popular theatrical film recently. “Think of all the blogging we would have gotten if we had left him out!” he said. Still, he told AP he understands the hurt feelings. “There’s nothing you can say to people, particularly to family members, within a day or two of the show that helps at all,” Davis said. “They tend to be surprised and hurt, and we understand that and we’re sorry for it.” – Ann Oldenburg

If you’re a lover of British independent cinema, you may have seen English actress Alice Eve in such movies as Starter for 10 or Big Nothing. If you’re not, then may She’s Out of My League be a fitting introduction. In the comedy opening Friday, Eve plays the “perfect 10” love interest for a geeky airport security guy (Jay Baruchel). Airports are familiar ground for Eve, as she commutes between work in America — she’s also appearing in this summer’s Sex and the City 2 — and her flat in London. “I couch surf, which I think I’m going to have to change,” Eve says. “You can only live out of a suitcase for so long.” I talked with the 28-year-old actress for a piece in last weekend’s Who’s News page, but read below for more of our Q&A and check out a clip from She’s Out of My League.

Photos courtesy of Paramount

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For John Walsh, host and executive producer of America’s Most Wanted (which airs Saturday nights on Fox), the show’s fate in 1987 seemed anything but certain. “I didn’t know anything about television.  I never thought the show would work,” the host admits during a conference call. The pilot of America’s Most Wanted, shot in Washington, D.C., aired on a Sunday night and was “torturous” work, but after the episode, tips began pouring in. One of the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted featured on the show, serial rapist and murderer David James Roberts, was caught by Thursday of the following week. One thousand episodes later, the first capture lingers on Walsh’s mind. “It was the most incredible experience,” he reflects, some 1,000+ caught criminals later. “The show that almost didn’t get on, a network that didn’t exist and look where Fox is now, and we’re still on after 22 years.” Read below for more our Alyssa Bailey’s report from the call, including Walsh’s meeting with President Barack Obama.

Photos courtesy of Fox and the White House

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While Lindsay Lohan is busy attending fashion shows in Paris today, her lawyers have filed a lawsuit against financial company E-Trade, saying the “milkaholic” baby named Lindsay in its latest commercial was modeled after her, reports the New York Post. She’s seeking $100 million in damages. Lohan’s lawyer, Stephanie Ovadia, said the actress has the same single-name recognition as Oprah or Madonna, and wants an injunction to force the spot off the air. Chris Brown, a spokesman for Grey Group, which produced the spot, told the Post it’s “just used a popular baby name that happened to be the name of someone on the account team.” – Ann Oldenburg

Ryan O’Neal says he can’t believe the decision by the Academy Awards to omit Farrah Fawcett from the “In Memoriam” segment of Sunday’s show. “It was a terrible decision and very hurtful,” O’Neal tells Radar Online. “Farrah was a member of the Academy for over 40 years and we could not believe she did not get a mention.” Patrick Swayze, Michael Jackson and Brittany Murphy were included in the segment. O’Neal says he watched the show with daughter Tatum, and they plan to protest. “Both Tatum and I were very upset and we intend to write a letter to the Academy to try and get an explanation for this oversight on their behalf.” Leslie Unger, a rep for the Academy, tells Radar that “unfortunately we don’t include everyone.”  She told E! it was “not an oversight.” – Ann Oldenburg

There’s still no official confirmation, and there are no details, but when People asked Betty White last night at the Elton John Oscar viewing party if she is going to do Saturday Night Live, she responded with, “Yes.” Fans have been clamoring for White, 88, to host SNL. “I don’t know why or how,” she said of the groundswell of support, “but it’s been wonderful.” – Ann Oldenburg

So with everybody still talking about Oscars, let’s start thinking about next year. Could what looks like this summer’s biggest flick, Iron Man 2, be a contender in the 10-film Best Picture race next year? By the looks of the movie’s second trailer below, I wouldn’t best against it. It shows more footage than ever of Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Mickey Rourke as Whiplash, a guest appearance by Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, and lots of explosions thanks to star Robert Downey Jr.’s well-armored suit. Stay tuned for more Iron Man 2 goodness coming in the magazine next month before the movie is released on May 7 in theaters nationwide.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

It was filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow and her war drama The Hurt Locker that put the hurt on all the other films at the 82nd Academy Awards Sunday night, walking away with six Oscars including Best Picture. Bigelow became the first woman to ever win for Best Director, beating out the likes of her ex-husband, Avatar director James Cameron. Those may have been the only surprises at Hollywood’s biggest night. The Blind Side star Sandra Bullock gave a memorable speech after winning the Best Actress Oscar — “Did I really earn this or did I just wear y’all down?” she joked when receiving the award — and the much-loved Jeff Bridges of Crazy Heart beamed when he thanked his parents after winning for Best Actor amid a standing ovation at Los Angeles’ Kodak Theatre. The Best Supporting Actor and Actress crowns went to Christoph Waltz of Inglourious Basterds and Precious star Mo’Nique, respectively. (Click here for a complete list of winners.) Did the right films and actors win? Let us know in the comments, and also tell us what your favorite moments from the ceremony were. (I mean, who didn’t love Ben Stiller dressed up as a Na’vi from Avatar?)

Pierce Brosnan’s a pretty busy guy lately, starring as a wise centaur in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, plus having three films opening in the next month. The former James Bond stars as a former British prime minister in Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer (opening nationally today) opposite Ewan McGregor; acts with Twilight star Robert Pattinson in next week’s Remember Me; and plays Susan Sarandon’s on-screen husband in The Greatest (in New York and Los Angeles theaters April 2). I talked with him for a feature in this weekend’s magazine, and also had him name a few of his favorite things. Read below for those, and check out a clip from The Ghost Writer.

Photo by Guy Ferrandi

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No one gives back to fandom with his colorful TV characters quite like James Marsters. The actor rose to geek infamy in the late 1990s playing the deliciously malevolent blond vampire Spike opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, then hounded a young Clark Kent (Tom Welling) as the robotic Brainiac on Smallville before throwing down with John Barrowman in the BBC’s popular Torchwood. Marsters adds to the list starting tomorrow, when he begins the first of five episodes on Syfy’s Battlestar Galactica prequel series, Caprica. His Barnabas Greeley is a rogue member of the enigmatic religious zealots known as Soldiers of the One, who believe in a single supreme god. He comes into conflict with Clarice (played by Polly Walker), who heads the STO faction on Caprica. “She’s too much of a pacifist. She’s like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and I’m like Malcolm X,” Marsters says. “He does not really agree with the way she’s doing it, and he’s starting his own faction with his own people.” Marsters just came back from working on a new album in London and New Jersey to spend time with his two kids — son Sullivan, 13, and niece Brittany, 12 — and took time out to talk about Barnabas and his other screen personas. Read below for our conversation and check out a sneak peek of Friday’s episode of Caprica.

Photos courtesy of SyFy, The WB

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