Thursday was ladies' night for the Simpson wedding party.

Jessica and mother Tina Simpson hosted a bachelorette bash for imminent bride-to-be Ashlee Simpson last night, E! News has exclusively learned. The hen party was held at the Encino home of parents Joe and Tina, where tents were spotted being erected earlier in the day.

A source said the balloon-decorated party was a "mellow" affair attended by a dozen or so of the youngest Simpson's nearest and dearest. The bash lasted just a few hours, beginning in the early evening and ending before midnight.

Doing their bit to detract attention from the bachelorette party, soon-to-be in-laws Pete Wentz and Joe Simpson dined with a few of Wentz's pals at the paparazzi hot spot Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills for a two-hour guys-only bachelor dinner.

Beer and wine were in steady supply at the table, and the tab, totaling nearly $1,000, was magnanimously picked up by the future father-in-law.

The group left the photographer-swarmed eatery after 11 p.m. through separate exits—Papa Simpson out the front and Wentz & Co. through the back.

"I'm a happy camper," Simpson said as he made his departure.

Wentz, meanwhile, eschewed questions about his rapidly forthcoming nuptials, taking place on Saturday, or his fiancée's possible baby bump, instead joking that the group spent the night discussing the finer points of his facial hair.

When asked what he and Simpson discussed, the Fall Out Boy quipped that the patriarch was "only concerned with my mustache."

Oh, well. Better to talk about a hairy situation than have one. Right, Tony Romo?

—Reporting by Ken Baker

Ah, nostalgia can be so forgiving.

The very grown-up New Kids on the Block didn't exactly have the right stuff when they hit the stage outside the Today show Friday morning and performed a medley of their biggest hits, but that didn't seem to matter to the more than 3,000 screaming NKOTB fans who stood in the pouring rain to watch.

The reunited group will be hitting the road later this year for a North American tour. While we don't know if there will be an opening act, we're guessing Marky Mark won't be available.

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are making it official.

Hours after Thursday's landmark ruling by the California Supreme Court striking down a state law banning gay marriage, the 50-year-old daytime host announced during a taping of The Ellen DeGeneres Show that she and the 35-year-old former Ally McBeal star plan to swap vows.

In the episode scheduled to air later today, studio audience members greeted DeGeneres' news with thunderous applause and a standing ovation as De Rossi watched from the sidelines.

The show's publicist was unavailable for comment.

Separately, in an interview with The Advocate Thursday, DeGeneres said she was ready to go bridal.

"I'm thrilled that the California Supreme Court overturned the ban on gay marriage," she told the magazine. "I can't wait to get married. We all deserve the same rights, and I believe that someday...not allowing gays to marry will seem as absurd as not allowing women to vote."

DeGeneres and the Aussie actress have been together for four years.

Graham Japson/WireImage.com, Lisa O'Connor/ZUMAPress.com

UPDATE: A source in Costa Rica tells E! that Britney Spears arrived with Mel Gibson at 3:18 p.m. local time.

Upon arrival, Britney looked calm, albeit tired, from the trip. Along with Gibson, his wife, Robin, and Britney's father, Jamie Spears, some unidentified youngsters also got off the plane.

An immigration executive boarded their jet to complete the necessary paperwork and, about an hour later, the group took off on a smaller private plane for the province of Guanacaste, in the northwest part of Costa Rica bordering Nicaragua.

Local press are reporting the pop star will be vacationing on Gibson's coastal property along Playa Barrigona.

_______________________________________________________________

Britney Spears has found herself a rather unorthodox traveling companion. So to speak.

E! News has confirmed the singer joined Mel Gibson aboard a private jet this morning, bound for Costa Rica.

Keep Reading

Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com

We hear things didn't end well between Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson.

"Yeah, it was pretty hostile," says a source close to Owen. "Lots of shouting. Lots of tears."

Sources close to the couple confirm to E! News that the duo are no longer on speaking terms, following a blowout over allegations that Owen was flirting with other women while on location for the film Marley & Me in Miami.

"Look, they haven't been getting along really for most of the time they've been back together," said the friend of Owen, referring to when the couple reunited in February. "Owen can be a moody guy, very up and very down. And Kate is so upbeat, it was hard for her to take."

After all the bitter bickering, the couple basically stopped speaking for awhile.

Get the rest of the story after the jump...

Keep Reading

Red carpet! Photographers! Brad and Angelina sporting a double-baby belly bump!

If you can't actually be in Cannes, then you can get a taste of the flashbulbs and French-language introductions in this clip of the couple at the Kung Fu Panda premiere. And be sure to check out our regularly updating Cannes photo gallery, as well.

Will Binn, PacificCoastNews.com

Say what you will about the antics of attention-starved Bai Ling, and trust us, we say a lot, but the woman does know how to attract the attention of cameras in the vicinity.

So we have to ask, Why is she clinging to this tree? Is it because:

She wants to take tree hugging to "the next level"?

She's trying to make the hedge jealous?

That's where nuts are naturally found?

We don't know, but because she tries so hard, we ask that you dig deep and come up with the reasons you think she might be embracing this tree and post them below.

Frank Micelotta / FOX

The impending battle of the Davids put a little spring in American Idol's flagging step last night.

Fox's hit show—which, despite showing signs of deflation, still exhibits juggernaut behavior—attracted nearly 24.3 million viewers Wednesday, a 1.4 million-strong bump from last week and its largest audience since April 2, when Michael Johns and Carly Smithson were still singing for their supper and little Ramiele Malubay got the boot.

Idol also saw viewership jump by more than 4 million people in its second half-hour, ensuring that Fox would flay the competition in its time slot—although CBS' Criminal Minds put up quite a fight, averaging 12.7 million inquiring minds—and win the night in total viewers.

Although it's unlikely the expected showdown between David Archuleta and David Cook will bring the millions who have gone missing this season back in full force next week, Fox has to like the fact that its (yes, still dominant) numbers are creeping back up.

But why should you care?

Keep Reading

Paul Fenton/ZUMApress.com

Just when Taylor Hicks seemed to be in danger of being a public-eye dropout, along comes the favorite landing spot of many an American Idol refugee.

Broadway.

Starting June 6, the silvery haired season-five champ will jump into the role of Teen Angel, Frenchy's guardian angel and the singer of "Beauty School Dropout," in the current reality-show-fueled revival of Grease at the Brooks Atkinson Theater.

Hicks is slated to Soul Patrol the stage until Sept. 7.

The production, which hasn't gotten the greatest reviews but seems to be surviving based on sheer nostalgia, kicked off last August featuring Max Crumm and Laura Osnes—the winners of NBC's Grease: You're the One That I Want!—playing Danny and Sandy and, per the Internet Broadway Database, those two performers are still giving each other mixed signals and trying to act cool in front of their friends.

Hicks, who is no longer signed to Clive Davis' J-Records, joins Clay Aiken, Fantasia Barrino, Tamyra Gray, Frenchie Davis, Diana DeGarmo and Constantine Maroulis on the list of Idol winners, shoulda-wons and also-rans who have appeared on Broadway in the past several years.

Lucasfilms/Paramount PicturesImage

The Archaeological Institute of America knows Harrison Ford only plays a bullwhip-toting, intrepid scholar on the big screen, right?

Either way, because of what the movie star's role as the iconic Indiana Jones has done for the field, the Boston-based organization has elected Ford to its board of directors.

Understanding the past helps in "dealing with the present and future," Ford said in a statement released by the AIA, which, per its website, "exists to promote archaeological inquiry and public understanding of the material record of the human past worldwide."

The institute's professional members have conducted field research around the globe and have founded research and learning centers in seven countries.

It's unclear what duties Ford will fulfill, but surely even the pros can use refresher courses from time to time on escaping snaky situations and riding an inflatable raft through the snow.

DMX is maintaining his innocence. He could stand to wind his watch, though.

During a brief hearing Thursday to which he arrived late, the actor-rapper pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of animal cruelty and drug possession stemming from a months-long investigation into reports of pit bull abuse at his Phoenix-area residence and a subsequent search of his home.

The seven dog-related charges are misdemeanors, while the four drug counts—three of which stem from a raid at DMX's home in August and another from marijuana allegedly found at the scene during another search last week—are felonies.

The Cradle 2 the Grave star, whose real name is Earl Simmons, is accused of mistreating 12 pit bulls found on his property last summer, which, according to the Maricopa County sheriff's office, had to be given emergency veterinary treatment for malnutrition and dehydration.

Another five puppies were confiscated during the cops' most recent trip to DMX's house, as well.