Sad news today — actor Pete Postlethwaite has died at the age of 64. He passed away at a hospital in Shropshire after a lengthy battle with cancer.
He was Oscar-nominated for his role in In the Name of the Father, and among his many films he starred in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet and The Usual Suspects, as well as the more recent Inception.
He is survived by his wife and their two children, and our thoughts are with his family and friends.
Ryan Seacrest was surrounded by millions of people in Times Square Friday night as he co-hosted Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. He took a break from American Idol to make the trip to the Big Apple while new AI judge Jennifer Lopez headed to Las Vegas with Marc Anthony. Last week Ryan laughed off rumors of an engagement to girlfriend Julianne Hough, though she was in attendance to lock lips at the stroke of midnight. Jenny McCarthy also got a surprise kiss from her new boyfriend, attorney Paul Krepelka. New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys shared the stage again performing a mashup of their greatest hits as they prep for a 2011 Summer tour that has most of you really excited. Willow Smith was in the spirit of the night whipping her hair back and forth while Ke$ha kept the party going with her chart topping hit "Tik Tok." Avril Lavigne debuted a new song, "What the Hell" and Jennifer Hudson showed off her fit frame while belting out the appropriately titled tune, "Feeling Good."
This past year had plenty of highlights, which we celebrated in our best of 2010 coverage. Now it's time to looked forward to all the fun coming up in the new year. I asked you to vote for the event in 2011 you're most excited about, and Harry Potter fans made Deathly Hallows Part II the number one anticipated event. The final film of the series is released on July. 15., and although it's still a while away, excitement is already building.
There are other big events to look forward to, including Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding on April 29. Their nuptials took third place in my poll, behind the other major franchise film release of 2011: Breaking Dawn. The first installment hits cinemas on Nov. 18.
