V FOR VICTORY: V for Vendetta took the the top spot at the weekend box office with a $26.1 million debut. Sarah Jessica Parker's romantic comedy Failure to Launch, which debuted at No. 1 last week, fell to second place with $15.8 million.
CHATTY HOUSEWIFE: Eva Longoria telling Allure it was love at first sight with her NBA-star boyfriend Tony Parker. She also told the magazine that "he's only been with one other person in his life," and that she is the "teacher" in the duo.
BEATING IT: A day after agreeing to pony up back wages to his Neverland Ranch employees to avoid a state lawsuit, Michael Jackson lays some workers off and partially shutters the estate. The entertainer remains shacked up in Bahrain.
TRAPPED IN THE CLOSET? Comedy Central refusing to air a rerun Wednesday night of the infamous Tom Cruise/Scientology-skewering episode, Trapped in the Closet, after pressure from Cruise. His reps deny any involvement.
EVERY DAY IS A WINDING ROAD: After scrapping a spring tour to undergo successful surgery for breast cancer, Sheryl Crow kicking off rescheduled dates in Indianapolis June 12 and wrapping up at Boston's Fenway Park with the Dave Matthews Band July 8.
CALLING BOSS HOGG: Tom Wopat, who played Luke Duke on TV's The Dukes of Hazzard, arrested for drunken driving in Ringwood, New Jersey.
LET'S START A HEARING: Fresh off an Oscar for their song It's Hard out Here for a Pimp, Three 6 Mafia facing lawsuit by fan who claims he was beaten during one of their 2003 shows.
B.I.G. UPDATE: The LAPD assigning a new team of detectives to investigate the 1997 murder of rapper Notorious B.I.G. in response to his family's lawsuit against the city alleging corrupt police officers played a role in his death.
MORE B.I.G. NEWS: Judge stopping all sales of Notorious B.I.G.'s breakthrough 1994 album Ready to Die after a jury decided one song used part of an Ohio Players tune without permission.
TUPAC ETERNAL: Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in Las Vegas putting a Tupac Shakur wax figure on display at the Venetian Hotel beginning April 5, nearly ten years after the rapper was killed in a drive-by shooting.
POST-OSCAR HIGH: Jon Stewart's gig hosting this month's Academy Awards boosting The Daily Show's numbers from 1.5 million to 1.6 million viewers in the six episodes after his appearance, according to Nielsen Media Research.
NO CAN DO: The Smiths nixing a $5 million offer to reunite for next year's Coachella festival, former lead singer Morrissey told reporters Thursday at Austin's South by Southwest music conference.
MOURNED: Oleg Cassini, designer who outfitted Jacqueline Kennedy in her trademark glamorous clothing and pillbox hats, has died at 92.
16 FEET OF SHAKIRA: Pop star Shakira's Colombian hometown erecting a 16-foot iron statue of the singer to be on display in the city.
CODE TALKERS: A lawyer for Random House, the publisher of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, telling London's High Court that the lawsuit brought by a writer accusing Brown of copyright infringement was "in tatters."
WEDDING BUZZ: Rumors flying that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt will tie the knot in Italy this weekend at George Clooney's Lake Como estate. Pitt's rep declined to comment, while Clooney's rep says, "Rumors are rumors."