Simpson to star in TV comedy

    U.S. pop singer Jessica Simpson is set to star in a television pilot for NBC that is loosely based on her life, executive producer Ben Silverman said on January 16.

    The comedy could be Simpson’s first step back into a major acting role in more than five years.

    The former teen pop star is best known for her reality TV shows, including MTV’s “Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica,” which followed Simpson and her first husband and fellow pop singer Nick Lachey.

    Pattinson, Stewart split again

    Actors Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart have reportedly split* once again.

    The “Twilight” co-stars first split last summer when Stewart admitted to cheating on Pattinson with “Snow White and the Huntsman” director Rupert Sanders.

    According to British tabloid* The Sun, Pattinson told Stewart that he wanted to call time on their relationship once again over the weekend.

    Psy to hit Spring Festival gala

    “Gangnam Style” singer Psy is set for the upcoming Lunar New Year Spring Festival in China.

    In his debut China performance, the South Korean pop star Psy is expected to share the stage with Taiwan supermodel* Lin Chi-ling at Dragon TV’s Spring Festival Gala in early February, according to iFeng.com.

    It is rumored that Psy will make a grand entrance by jumping out of a helicopter. Naturally, he will also teach Lin to do the world-famous horse-riding dance.

    Chinese stage actor passes away

    Famous Chinese modern drama actor, also the former deputy director of Chinese Dramatists Association, Yu Shizhi died on Sunday at the age of 86.

    Yu was born in 1927 in Tangshan, Hebei Province, near Beijing. His father died when he was only 3 months old, leaving no money for his family. To support the family, Yu went out for work when he was only 15. He first went on stage when he was 17, in the play “Circus Troupe.”

    He once played the role of the character Wang Lifa in the play “The Teahouse,” a masterpiece* by Lao She. It was this famous Chinese drama that made Yu rise to fame as a leading actor in the well-known Beijing People’s Art Theater.(SD-Agencies)