UPI VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT NEWS 01.22.08

Oscar nominees announced.

Oscar nominations are in. Nominees were announced this morning in Los Angeles. Up for best actress are Julie Christie for "Away From Her," Marion Cotillard for "La Vie En Rose," Ellen Page for "Juno," Cate Blanchett for her role in "Elizabeth: the Golden Age," and Laura Linney for "Savages." In the Best Actor Category Daniel Day-Lewis grabbed a nod for "There Will be Blood," George Clooney is nominated for "Michael Clayton," Johnny Depp for "Sweeney Todd," Tommy Lee Jones for "In the Valley of Elah," and Viggo Mortenson for "Eastern Promises."And rivaling for best picture are "Atonement,""Micahel Clayton," "Juno", "No Country For Old Men," and "There Will be Blood."

In other news, Kiefer Sutherland is now a free man. The "24" star was released from jail yesterday after 48 days there. He was serving time for a second driving under the influence conviction and violating his probation. He was apparently greeted by a swarm of media when he left the California facility. Sources say he looked very happy to be out.

Britney Spears made an appearance at a custody deposition yesterday. She drove to her ex Kevin Federline's attorney's office to attend the session, although apparently arrived late. The singer was reportedly cross examined for more than 2 hours. It's all part of the ongoing custody battle for their two sons two year old Sean Preston and one year old Jayden James. Spears has missed several other appointments to discuss her parenting skills.

John Travolta is backing his buddy Tom Cruise. Travolta says the media attention focused on Cruise lately has gone too far. The "Mission Impossible" star has made the headlines recently after a video was released on the internet, showing Cruise praising the Church of Scientology. Travolta, who also follows Scientology, tells people magazine everyone has a right to practice what they want.

Stars are out in full force at the Sundance Film Festival. Paris Hilton was spotted at the festival, in the middle of all the action as well as director Quentin Tarantino. Sarah Jessica Parker brought her husband Matthew Broderick to the premiere of her film "Smart People." Dennis Quaid, who also stars in the film was at the event with his wife Kimberly. Other stars like Jack Black and musician Mos Def attended the premiere of their film "Be Kind Rewind" along with actor Danny Glover.

UPI VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT NEWS 12.21.07

SAG nominations announced.

The Screen Actor's Guild Award nominations are in. Actors Terrence Howard and Jeanne Tripplehorn announced the nominees yesterday. Cate Blanchett scored 4 nods from the SAG including best actress for "Elizabeth: the Golden Age." The adventure drama "Into the Wild" also grabbed four nominations...including a best actor nod for the star Emile Hirsch. The award ceremony will air on January 27 on TNT and TBS.

Former "American Idol" contestant Jessica Sierra may be pregnant while in jail. According to TMZ.com , sources say the 22 year old is expecting with her rapper boyfriend. She's reportedly now on a pregnancy diet at the Florida jail infirmary. Sierra was arrested earlier this month for resisting arrest, disorderly intoxication and felony cocaine possession. The charges violate her probation from a previous battery charge.

Comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are heading back to work. Comedy Central says new episodes of "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" will return to TV January 7...without their writers. This comes in the middle of the ongoing writers Guild strike. In a joint statement the hosts say they feel ambivalent to return and wish they were doing so with their writers.

R&B singer R. Kelly showed up at a Chicago courtroom yesterday for child pornography charges. He apparently arrived 20 minutes early...attempting to make up for missing an appearance scheduled for Wednesday. The singer's lawyer says he was unable to make it to court because of bad weather. Kelly has been charged with 14 counts of child pornography for allegedly taping himself having sex with a girl 13 or 14 years old in 2002.

Eva Mendes is baring it all for a new animal rights ad campaign. She's featured naked in a new series of posters for the group PETA. The organization launched the campaign last night in L.A. It's called "Fur? I'd Rather Go Naked." Stars like Christina Applegate and Alicia Silverstone have also appeared in similar ads for the charity.

UPI VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT NEWS 12.12.07

Alex Trebek suffers minor heart attack.

"Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek is recovering from a minor heart attack. A rep for his show tells People magazine he realized he was having heart problems on Monday night and was then hospitalized. Doctors say he's resting comfortably now and should recover fully. Trebek's rep says he should be able to return to the show when they film new episodes next month.

Sean Penn's film "Into the Wild" is getting a lot of attention from the Broadcast Film Critics Association. The film, starring Emile Hirsch grabbed seven nominations for Critic's choice Awards...including best pictures. Other nods went to Cate Blanchett who scored nominations for best actress for "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" and best supporting actress for "I'm not There." Michael Cera is also up for two awards in the best young actor category for "Juno" and "Superbad." Awards will be presented on January 7.

"24" star Kiefer Sutherland is reportedly receiving plenty of reading material while in jail. A spokesman for the Southern California jail says he's received more than 100 fan letters a day. Sutherland began his 48 day sentence last week for a second DUI charge and violating his probation.

Gwen Stefani is reaching out to victims of the recent California wildfires. The singer is reportedly starting a college scholarship fund for those who lost their homes in the fires last October. The details for the Gwen Stefani After-the-Fire scholarship are still being figured out. Stefani is also donating proceeds from a recent concert to the San Diego Foundation fire-relief fund.

Will Smith has made his mark in front of a famous Hollywood landmark. The actor left an imprint of his hands and feet outside of the Grauman's Chinese Theater on Monday. It was part of a ceremony honoring him for his work in the entertainment industry. A very special friend attended the event...Smith's buddy Tom Cruise who sat with Smith's two children. His wife Jada was away directing a film and could not make it to the ceremony.