TIFF opens with ‘Captain Phillips’

    The U.S. film “Captain Phillips” and “The Kiyosu Conference” from Japan were chosen as the opening and closing films for the 26th Tokyo International Film Festival on July 30.

    The 26th TIFF will take place from October 17-25 at Roppongi Hills and other venues in Tokyo. Fifteen films from around the world will be selected for screening* at the festival. The International Competition Jury will award the Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix, Special Jury prize and more.

    Cowell having a baby with friend’s wife

    Simon Cowell is finally going to be a dad!

    The “X Factor” judge, 53, is expecting his first child with New York socialite* Lauren Silverman, 36, multiple sources have confirmed. The news has been hot gossip among friends recently because Silverman is married to Cowell’s close friend, real estate mogul Andrew Silverman.

    Lauren Silverman is said to be “around 10 weeks along” in the pregnancy. Sources have revealed that the Silvermans filed for divorce earlier this month. The couple had enjoyed several holidays together with Cowell over the past four years.

    Backstreet Boys release new album

    Backstreet is back in a big way. Not only does their new LP, “In a World Like This,” commemorate 20 years of music for Backstreet Boys, it also celebrates the group’s reunion with Kevin Richardson.

    After a six-year hiatus, Richardson returned to the studio for the Backstreet Boys’ eighth studio album, out on July 30.

    Ellen DeGeneres to host Oscars

    Comedian Ellen DeGeneres will make her second appearance as an Academy Awards host next year, organizers said on August 2, in a move widely seen as a less provocative choice for Hollywood’s highest honors after a ribald* performance by Seth MacFarlane.

    DeGeneres, the star of her own daytime talk show “Ellen,” first hosted the Oscars in 2007, becoming only the second woman to fill that exalted role alone, after Whoopi Goldberg.(SD-Agencies)