'Idol' finalist Casey James: 'I'm happy with where I landed'

American Idol contestant Casey James initially charmed judge Kara DioGuardi with his looks — and then charmed America with his musicianship and mellow talent, which carried him all the way to the top three. USA TODAY caught up with James, 27, in a conference call Friday with the media.
Q: After you got the results, Kara told you to stick to your demographic — young girls and women. Were you offended by that, and do you think you're a bit more well-rounded as an artist?
A: I would like to hope so. But I definitely am not offended. That's her opinion. I know nothing of demographics, and my marketing skills are obviously poor — I wouldn't have been doing the same bar gigs for 11 years (if they weren't). But I'd like to think that I have a few more people out there who like what I'm doing

'Shrek 4' to cost $20 in some NYC movie theaters

Four popular movie theaters in New York City have announced the ticket prices for the upcoming Shrek Forever After and for the first time ever, IMAX 3D prices have reached the $20 threshold. The theaters are: AMC Kips Bay, AMC Loews 34th street, AMC Loews Lincoln Square, and the AMC Empire 42nd street. Says media analyst Richard Greenfield of the move: "With the state of the economy remaining questionable, we worry pricing is simply moving up too quickly. The danger is scaring consumers away from the movie theaters." The new price hike follows a recent round of price increases in March, where theaters in NYC raised IMAX and 3D prices as much as 25 percent. At the time, AMC 34th charged $19.50 for the IMAX 3D showing of "How to Train Your Dragon." While the price may scare away a number of consumers, AMC seems to think it is worth the risk, given the recent string of blockbuster successes in IMAX 3D showings, including 'Avatar,' 'Dragon' and 'Alice in Wonderland.' Box office revenue is up 6 percent year-on-year, mainly due to increased price tickets

Watts returns to Cannes, where her star was born

CANNES, France — Naomi Watts had been on the verge of giving up on Hollywood before she came to the Cannes Film Festival nine years ago.

Her own horror franchise, a hit "King Kong" remake and one Academy Award nomination later, Watts returned as a Cannes superstar, lighting up the festival red carpet in two films, the Valerie Plame drama "Fair Game" and Woody Allen's "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger."

Other than a quick stop to hand out an award at Cannes a few years ago, this was Watts' first time back to the festival since it helped launch her career after years of toiling in obscure movies.

Her breakthrough came with a starring role in David Lynch's "Mulholland Dr.", which played at Cannes in 2001.

"It was my career-maker. Anything that I had done was under the radar, so I really was an actor for hire. And then the launching of that film was the launching of me," Watts, 41, said in an interview along the beach near the Palais, the headquarters of the French Riviera festival.

Watts — who was born in England and moved as a teenager with her family to Australia — had been working in obscurity through much of the 1990s in Hollywood, seeing good friend Nicole Kidman climb to stardom while she remained on the fringes.

She often considered packing it in and giving up acting.

"Several times, literally and metaphorically speaking, I packed my bags. Many, many times, and every time, there'd be some little thing that would lure me back," Watts said. "Because ultimately, my heart was set on something, on this whole thing. I mean, I love what I do. I don't always love everything about it, but I love as an actor that you're given a chance to tell stories and move people, hopefully, and help them connect with their own stories."

After "Mulholland Dr." premiered at Cannes, Watts' career finally took off. She earned the lead in the hit horror remake "The Ring" and starred in its sequel. She took on the role Fay Wray originated in the 1933 "King Kong" for director Peter Jackson's mammoth remake. She earned a best-actress Oscar nomination for "21 Grams" opposite Sean Penn, her co-star in "Fair Game."

Watts' personal life has changed dramatically since that first trip to Cannes. She and boyfriend Liev Schreiber, with whom she starred in the drama "The Painted Veil," have two young sons.

Director Doug Liman wanted Watts to star as former CIA covert operative Plame for the same reason he wanted Matt Damon for the title role of "The Bourne Identity" — to help the audience empathize with a character from the unsavory world of espionage.

"It's like a beaming light of warmth and goodness that comes from Naomi Watts, and I thought if I cast her, I could be as hard-edged as I want with Valerie Plame, and you will still root for her. You will still love her, and you will still care for her," Liman said.

"She was going to be lying to her friends, lying to her husband, lying to the people she meets in the field, who can't know that she's a CIA officer."

Plame's cover was blown when officials in President George W. Bush's administration leaked her identity to reporters after Plame's husband wrote an opinion piece questioning White House statements to justify going to war in Iraq.

"Fair Game" depicts the political firestorm that swirled around Plame and husband Joe Wilson (Penn), who carried on his own media barrage against the Bush administration while his wife initially shunned speaking out in public. Plame and Wilson joined Watts and her "Fair Game" collaborators at Cannes for the film's premiere.

Watts also came to Cannes with festival regular Allen, who cast her alongside Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas and Josh Brolin as a woman in a crumbling marriage in the ensemble comedy "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger."

Allen had sought Watts for two previous films, but her schedule had not allowed her to sign on.

"I was nervous about never being invited back," Watts said. "It's a career milestone. I'd grown up watching his films and just loved every second of it. He's one of the true greats."

"Fair Game" and "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" are due in theaters this fall.

Returning to Cannes and marching up the festival's swooping red carpet reminded Watts of her trip there nine years earlier with "Mulholland Dr.," when she was a virtual unknown.

"What a memorable experience it was for me. The first time with such a great director, such a great role, such a great film, and it really seemed to move people," Watts said. "I just remember every detail very, very vividly. I remember what song was playing when I walked up that red carpet" — Cat Stevens' "Morning Has Broken."

"I remember that song breaking out just as I was opening the door to my car, and I mean, I had to do everything I could just to stop myself from crying, running my makeup, so to speak."

Megan Fox not in 'Transformers 3'; director Michael Bay seeks new starlet

The robots have kicked Megan Fox to the curb - or did the sexy starlet ditch them?
The dark-haired beauty, who has graced dozens of magazine covers since her breakout role in the first "Transformers" film in 2007, has been dumped from its second sequel.
Paramount Pictures has reported that they have opted not to pick up Fox's option for "Transformers 3," and according to Nikki Finke at Deadline.com, it was director Michael Bay who made the call.
"Giving Shia a new love interest [for Shia LeBeouf's character] makes more sense for the story," an insider said, according to Finke.
Fox's PR pals have come out swinging, however, in either an effort to get the record straight or peform a bit of career repair.
"It was her decision not to return. She wishes the franchise the best," reps for 24-year-old actress told People.com.
Fox likely earned Bay's wrath in September when she publically slammed the high-octane director, comparing him to Adolf Hitler.
"[Michael] wants to create this insane, infamous mad-man reputation," she told Wonderland Magazine. "He wants to be like Hitler on his sets, and he is. So he's a nightmare to work for."
Fox did note, however, that off the set he was nicer to be with.
"When you get him away from set, and he's not in director mode, I kind of really enjoy his personality because he's so awkward, so hopelessly awkward," she said. "He's vulnerable and fragile in real life and then on set he's a tyrant."
"She says some very ridiculous things," Bay responded at the time. "And she still has a lot of growing up to do. You roll your eyes when you see statements like that and think, 'Okay Megan, you can do whatever you want.'"
However, Fox's dismissals comes as something of a surprise, since Bay suggested on his blog in October that he was looking forward to working with her again.
"P.S. Megan Fox, welcome back," he said. "I promise no alien robots will harm you in any way during the production of this motion picture."
Bay and Paramount are now seeking out a suitable replacement. According to reports, the bevy of beauties that could replace Fox include Emmanuelle Chiriqui ("Entourage"), Zoe Saldana ("Avatar," "Star Trek") and models Bar Rafaeli and Brooklyn Decker

Nicolas Cage only eats animals according to their 'dignified' sex lives

Nicolas Cage is not your average carnivore. The off-beat actor reveals that he only eats animals whose sex lives he respects."I love all animals," Cage tells U.K.'s The Sun. "I actually choose the way I eat according to the way animals have sex."While he stays away from pork, the actor says he favors eating fish and birds because they are "very dignified with sex.""I have a fascination with fish, birds, whales - sentient life - insects, reptiles," he adds.Cage, 46, has been known to have an unusual fondness for animals.In addition to sporting a tattoo of a lizard wearing a top hat, the actor once owned an octopus as a pet, according to the British tabloid. He also reportedly purchased a two-headed snake while filming 2009's "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans."He said of his slithery friend, "I met the snake and said, 'Maybe this will be my bodyguard in New Orleans.'"