See that lovely lady to the left? That’s actress, singer, and Weight Watchers spokesperson Jennifer Hudson at the 2011 Academy Awards. She wasn’t nominated for an Oscar at that ceremony, but she was there, looking fit and sparkly and beautiful.

That’s what losing a bunch of weight (and having the money to dress yourself up in diamonds – or, the fame to borrow them from jewelers) will do for you.

However, back in 2007 Hudson did win an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in Dreamgirls. At that point she’d already won a handful of lesser-known awards for that movie (like the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Award for Breakout Performance and the Palm Springs International Film Festival Award for Breaththrough Performance), but I imagine the night she went home with an Oscar was much more memorable.

Yet, despite how good that Oscar must have felt in her grip, the former American Idol finalist told Self losing 80 pounds felt better:

I’m prouder of my weight loss than my Oscar!

So…did Adam Levine watch the MTV Video Music Awards last night?

Better yet, did you?

MTV premiered a new VMA category last night, “Best Video With A Message.” Although she was up against some pretty tough competition (Eminem and Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Kary Perry, Rise Against, and Pink), Lady Gaga took home the Moonman for “Born This Way.”

According to Reuters, the “Best New Video With A Message” was created to “honor artists and music videos that featured a positive message or raised awareness of key social issues facing today’s youth.”

MTV President Stephen Friedman adds that a big part of the new VMA is due to:

[...]the recent mobilization of celebrities and public figures that have rallied against bullying youths, gay discrimination and promoted self-empowerment (Reuters).

Imagine waking up one morning, after spending more than $30,000 on 10 plastic surgery procedures (think new breasts, a brow lift, and tons of liposuction), to realize that, hey, maybe you didn’t want to do that, after all.

Apparently, that’s what’s happened to Heidi Montag.

If the title of this post sounds familiar to you, that’s because it is. Back in January 2010, Montag talked publicly about the multiple plastic surgery procedures she’s had, claiming she was “beyond obsessed.”

Yet, at some point after dumping more money into her body than some of us Average Joes and Janes would spend on a new car, the reality television star realized it wasn’t the best of ideas.

(This realization, however, probably is.)

Whew!

Adam Levine is just not feelin’ the music industry these days (well, parts of it, anyway) and he is not shy about admitting it.

Yesterday, the Maroon 5 frontman and music coach on The Voice tweeted that the MTV’s Video Music Awards (VMAs) was “the one day a year MTV still pretends to care about music” (and the followed up with some choice phrases for the channel).

Not to be outdone, MTV immediately followed up by asking Levine if he’d be “tuning in 9/8c tomorrow night” and salted the wound by reminding Levine he wasn’t so above the VMAs when Maroon 5 won its own Moonman…

…back in 2004.

Ouch.

Noel Gallagher (former lead guitarist and songwriter for the super ridiculously amazing English rock band Oasis – as if you didn’t know) has a new project, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, with a new album, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (I’m diggin’ the continuity) coming out in October 2011.

(“The Death of You and Me,” the first single off Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds debut album, was released last Tuesday.)

Though Gallagher released solo material in 2007, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds consists of Gallagher’s first non-Oasis songs since leaving the band in 2009.

Earlier this month, Rolling Stone spoke with Gallagher about the new band and upcoming project, including the smaller venues the High Flying Birds will play compared to the gigantic stadiums he’s used to with Oasis and how playing those venues might be a “nice change of pace,” especially as it’ll allow him to “actually see the faces of the audience.”

Gallagher, true to his reputation for Devil-May-Care-Meets-An-Abandoned-Porta-Potty dialogue, had some interesting things to say about that.

Maybe you love her. Maybe you want to claw out your eardrums each time you hear her music. Regardless of your feelings about Rebecca Black, chances are high you’re familiar with the Internet celebrity. The 14-year-old “Friday” singer had a dream and, with the help of her Mom (who reportedly paid $4,000 to record the song & video), made it come true -

- to the tune of an MTV O Music Award Nomination, a Teen Choice Award, and something like a gabazillion trillion YouTube video views.

Anyone can respect that….right?

Maybe not.

If you’ve ever wanted to see Jennifer Aniston naked, now’s your chance.

Well, not really (at least, I’m guessing not really!), but that genius Ben Stiller realized that he could probably draw some attention to The Stiller Foundation if he tells people it’s actually called the See Jennifer Aniston Naked Foundation because, hey, lots of people want to see Jennifer Aniston naked.

(Eat your heart out, Brad.)

Although The Stiller Foundation, which launched in 2010, isn’t really about seeing Jennifer Aniston in the buff, it is about helping educate children around the world so they can realize their full potentials. Thus far, The Foundation has worked primarily with children in Haiti following the devastating January 2010 earthquake.

And, really – isn’t that better than seeing Jennifer Aniston naked?

To learn more about The Stiller Foundation, visit the website, and check out the Foundation’s official Twitter and Facebook. You can also check out videos related to The Stiller Foundation at the Red Hour Films YouTube Channel.

Image Credit: SpreePiX – Berlin per these Creative Commons License Attributions

The entry period is over and comments are closed. Thanks for entering and/or stopping by!

Now that you know a little bit about Ned Zeman’s new memoir The Rules of the Tunnel: My Brief Period of Madness, how would you like a copy of your very own?

For free?

Thanks to the good people over at Gotham Books, it’s possible (as long as you’re a resident of the United States or Canada):

• Leave a comment under this post letting me know you want entered in the drawing. It doesn’t have to be fancy – a quick “I’m in!” will suffice. You have until 12 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) Sunday night. (So, right when Sunday night becomes Monday morning, just so we’re clear.) After that, comments will be closed.
• Before sending your comment, make sure you include your real e-mail address in the section that asks for it. This won’t be visible to the public; only to me, who needs it in order to contact the winner.
• On Monday, August 22, 2011, I’ll randomly select the winner, all names-in-a-hat style.
• Soon after drawing a winner (I don’t know how soon; maybe I’ll have lunch or walk my dog or something first), I’ll notify him/her via e-mail and obtain his/her snail mail address. Gotham needs this info in order to mail the winner’s book.
• Once Gotham gets the info, they’ll drop the book in the mail!

Sound good? Good! Let the entries begin!

Image via Penguin

Quite often, we read about the highs and lows of celebrities.

Jennifer Lopez is getting divorced. Julia Roberts might star in a new film. Colin Farrell seems to be holding it together pretty well since he started rehab. He even acted as a games spokesperson for the Special Olympics a few years ago, right?

Some writer who caught a break (or made the right connections at Harvard, or, I don’t know, had some talent) caught up with these famous names, spent a few hours with them, and wrote a piece that gives us a glimpse into their lives.

That’s the best-case scenario. Worst case, some writer caught up with a publicist or representative or “insider close to the star” and got a few statements before churning out another blurb or fluff piece to fill the space between two advertisements.

When it came to profiling the famous, Vanity Fair contributing editor Ned Zeman was never a worst-case scenario.

Yet, when it came to treating his depression, anxiety, and what eventually turned into bipolar disorder, he was worst-case all the way.

Plan on watching Talihina Sky: The Story of the Kings of Leon on Showtime this Sunday?

Then prepare yourself for a pretty raw look at lead singer Caleb Followill’s problems with alcohol and how those problems have (and still are) affecting the band.

As you might already know, earlier this month Kings of Leon announced they were canceling the remainder of their summer tour dates due to what the band’s representative called Caleb’s “vocal issues and exhaustion.”

However, Jared Followill, Caleb’s younger brother and the band’s bassist, was quick to let the world know that the band was suffering from problems “bigger than not drinking enough Gatorade.”

Of course, after that, we all pretty much realized what was going on, and Caleb wasn’t too secretive about it.

Now, Rolling Stone reports that Stephen C. Mitchell, a friend of the band and the documentary’s director, has decided not to cut a fairly graphic-sounding glimpse at just how thoroughly Caleb’s drinking has saturated the band’s dynamics.