Leno makes more NBC jokes
BURBANK, Calif., March 23 (UPI) -- Jay Leno has made more jabs at NBC after rumors mounted he will be replaced as "Tonight Show" host before his contract is up, The Hollywood Reporter said..
The controversy was first ignited by jokes Leno made about NBC's February sweeps ratings, which caused NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt to take offense.
Since the dust-up, rumors have been swirling that NBC has debated speeding up the timing of Leno's contract, which expires September 2014. Some top NBC executives would like Jimmy Fallon to take over as host of the "Tonight Show" in February 2014 to coincide with the airing of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, The Hollywood Reporter said.
In reaction to the rumors, Leno has been making more jokes about the network during his opening monologues, the report said.
On Friday he told the news report of Canadian doctors who removed a knife from the back of a man after it had been lodged there for three years.
"Imagine that. The guy had a knife in his back for three years. He must have worked at NBC too," Leno said.
He continued by making a joke about a Carnival cruise that had recently gone awry.
"Have you heard about this alleged feud that I'm having with NBC? I think it's going to be OK," Leno said. "This is real. I had dinner last night with a bunch of executives. To make it up me, what they did, they are sending my wife and I on an all-expenses-paid Carnival cruise."
"So it looks like it's going to be OK. Fantastic!" he added.
My Chemical Romance breaks up
LOS ANGELES, March 23 (UPI) -- My Chemical Romance, an alternative rock band formed in New Jersey in 2001, announced Friday it has broken up.
"Being in this band for the past 12 years has been a true blessing," musicians Gerard Way, Ray Toro, Mikey Way and Frank Iero said in a statement on the group's website.
"We've gotten to go places we never knew we would," the message went on. "We've been able to see and experience things we never imagined possible. We've shared the stage with people we admire, people we look up to, and best of all, our friends. And now, like all great things, it has come time for it to end. Thanks for all of your support, and for being part of the adventure."
No reason was given for the split.
Pippa dumped by literary agent
LONDON, March 23 (UPI) -- British Prince William's sister-in-law, Pippa Middleton, has been dumped by her literary agent after her party-planning book, "Celebrate," didn't sell well.
"I am very sorry it has happened, but yes, it is true: I no longer represent Pippa and I wish her every good luck," the Daily Telegraph quoted Middleton's agent, David Godwin, as saying.
Middleton is the sister of Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William's wife of nearly two years. Starting next month, Middleton will write a column called "Pippa's Friday Night Feasts" for Waitrose Kitchen magazine, the Telegraph said.
Emma Watson does sultry in Earth Day book
HOLLYWOOD, March 23 (UPI) -- Emma Watson took to Twitter to confirm she posed nude on an upcoming Earth Day photo spread, but dashed speculation about a racy movie role.
Watson included a bare-shouldered head shot of herself while tweeting the praises of the new James Houston photography book "Natural Beauty" and also dismissed the idea of playing the leading lady in the film version of "Fifty Shades of Grey."
"Who here actually thinks I would do '50 Shades of Grey' as a movie? Like really," Watson tweeted Saturday.
The Los Angeles Times said Watson was more enthused about "Natural Beauty," which included the 22-year-old actress demurely covering up with her arms or using strategically placed flowers.
