A special announcement about additions to the cast of the highly anticipated superhero movie, “The Avengers,” was made by Robert Downey Jr. (a.k.a Iron Man) during Comic-Con 2010 in San Diego this weekend.

(Watch “The Avengers” cast announcement from Comic-Con 2010 below.)

Mark Ruffalo will play Bruce Banner (a.k.a. The Hulk) and Jeremy Renner will play Hawkeye; and director Joss Whedon will bring the Marvel Comics superhero team to the big screen.  

Downey Jr. was announced on stage during Marvel’s Comic-Con panel by Samuel L. Jackson, who plays Nick Fury in the Marvel movies.  They appeared with the other actors who will play the other Avengers, including Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow). The cast announcement was met by a standing ovation.

The movie is slated for a 2012 release.

Among the sea of Stormtroopers and die-hard comic fans, celebrities also come out to celebrate Comic-Con in San Diego (and perhaps promote their movie, TV show, etc., of course!)

Comic-Con 2010 is under way in San Diego, and runs through the weekend.  For more about the event, click here.

Some of the celebrities spotted so far have included Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Helen Mirren, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Jerry O’Connell, and Seth Green, according to reports and photos.

Stars of some popular TV shows, mostly those of a science fiction nature, will be on-hand.  The cast of CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory,” which highlights the lives of four comic-loving, nerdy, but loveable guys (at least in my opinion) will be back (Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, and Kaley Cuoco).  The cast of HBO’s “True Blood” will also appear, as well as the the creators of the children’s pop-culture show, “Yo Gabba Gabba.”

Members of the cast of the upcoming movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (opens August 13) will help kick off the 22nd annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards on Friday night at Comic-Con.  Cast members scheduled to appear include Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Satya Bhabha, Alison Pill, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Brandon Routh, Jason Schwartzman, Johnny Simmons, Mark Webber, Mae Whitman, and Ellen Wong.

For more about San Diego’s Comic-Con 2010 events, autographs, schedules, and more, click here.

The stars and fans (“Twi-hards” as they are called) came out for the premiere of “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” on Thursday in Los Angeles.

The premiere was held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, with hundreds of fans on hand to cheer for the stars of the film.  Fans were reportedly camped out for several days to get a good spot near the red carpet.

This is the third movie in the “Twilight” series, all which are based on the books by Stephenie Meyer. The movie, which stars Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen), Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan), and Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black), is scheduled to hit theaters nationwide on Wednesday, June 30.

Pattinson, Stewart, Lautner, and fellow co-stars such as Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli, Dakota Fanning, and more were all on-hand Thursday to show their love to the Twi-hards.  The premiere also brought out other stars such as Jennifer Love Hewitt, who is a huge fan of the “Twilight” series, and some of the Kardashian and Jenner clan of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”

Watch video below to see the stars at the premiere of “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.”

Author Stephenie Meyer, of the “Twilight” teen vampire romance series, will release her first new title in two years stemming from a character from her “Eclipse” novel.

The 192-page novella called “The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner” will be released on June 5 in the United States and Britain, Little, Brown book publishers announced on Tuesday.  The English-language version of the novella will be available to read online at www.breetanner.com from June 7 until July 5.

“I’m as surprised as anyone about this novella,” Meyer said in a statement, explaining that she wrote the story to give the point of view of the newborn vampire of Bree, who is featured in the third book in the “Twilight” series, “Eclipse.”

The character of Bree is shown in the next movie adaptation of the book series, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” which will premiere in the U.S. in June.

In book form, “Twilight” and its sequels “New Moon,” “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn”, have sold 100 million copies worldwide, according to Little, Brown Book Group. 

The movie adaptations of the book have helped turn the “Twilight” franchise into a phenomenon and made stars of the actors, most notably Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner.

The 2010 “Kids’ Choice Awards” were held on Saturday night in Los Angeles, with host Kevin James bringing fun and slime to an audience of kids (and those watching on Nickelodeon from home) to honor their favorite movies, stars, athletes, and more.

(Watch the video below for one of the greatest slimes of the show … singer Katy Perry.)

The winners of the “23rd Annual Kids’ Choice Awards” by Nickelodeon, in which fans could vote at Nick.com ahead of time for their favorites, included:

Favorite Movie: “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel”
Favorite Cutest Couple: Jacob and Bella (“Twilight: New Moon”)
Favorite Movie Actor: Taylor Lautner (“Twilight: New Moon”)
Favorite Movie Actress: Miley Cyrus (“Hannah Montana: The Movie”)
Favorite TV Show: “iCarly”
Favorite TV Actress: Selena Gomez (“Wizards of Waverly Place”)
Favorite TV Actor: Dylan Sprouse (“The Suite Life of Zach and Cody,” “The Suite Life on Deck”)
Favorite Reality Show: “American Idol”
Favorite Music Group: The Black Eyed Peas
Favorite Female Singer: Taylor Swift
Favorite Male Singer: Jay-Z
Favorite Song: “You Belong With Me” Taylor Swift
Favorite Cartoon: “SpongeBob SquarePants”
Favorite Animated Movie: “Up”
Favorite Voice from Animated Movie: Jim Carrey
Favorite Male Athlete: Ryan Sheckler
Favorite Female Athlete: Misty May Treanor
Favorite Video Game: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Favorite Book: Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
The Big Help Award: First Lady Michelle Obama

Aside from the winners, other highlights of the evening were musical performances by Justin Bieber and Rihanna.

And in true Nickelodeon tradition, some of the celebrities were slimed, including Jerry Trainor, Jackson Rathbone, and Katy Perry (watch below).  Olympic athlete Apolo Anton Ohno set a new slime world record by being catapulted into a vat of slime, and comedians Tina Fey and Steve Carell received slimetime achievement awards.

Firebrand conservative Ann Coulter’s lecture at a Canadian college was cancelled Tuesday night over fears students would riot over racist remarks she made to Muslims.

Security at the University of Ottawa scrapped the right-wing darling’s talk when more than 2,000 students showed up to protest her telling a Muslim student Monday to “take a camel” as an alternative to flying.

Coulter’s tasteless comment came after previously she told a gathering that Muslims shouldn’t be allowed on airplanes and should take “flying carpets.”

The camel quip came when Muslim student Fatima Al-Dhaher challenged Coulter on the remark – and told her she didn’t have a flying carpet. “What mode of transportation?” Coulter responded. “Take a camel.”

A protest organizer, international studies student Mike Fancie, said he was pleased they were able to stop Coulter from speaking. “What Ann Coulter is practicing is not free speech, it’s hate speech,” he said. “She’s targeted the Jews, she’s targeted the Muslims, she’s targeted Canadians, homosexuals, women, almost everybody you could imagine.”

Students jeered Coulter’s remarks, and showed up in mass Tuesday night let her know she was not welcome at the school. Coulter tried to explain away her comments Tuesday as “satire.”

“I can say it a lot quicker with a joke, and by the way, they wouldn’t be bringing me in here for a speech if I never told a joke, if I never used satire,” she told a Canadian TV news channel.

Coulter expressed her outrage, calling the University of Ottawa a “bush league” institution in an interview for The Washington Times. “This has never happened before,” she told the newspaper. “I go to the best schools, Harvard, the Ivy League and those kids are too intellectually proud” to threaten speakers.

Coulter, a best-selling author and syndicated columnist, was in the middle of a three-city tour of Canada, which began at the University of Western Ontario in London on Monday, and ends in Calgary on Thursday.

The event in London earlier went without incident, but not without controversy.

Coulter’s ‘Camel’ Snipe – The pundits call her remarks ‘satire.’ Do you agree, or did she cross a line?

NBA Basketball star, Michael Jordan, and the ever famous American socialite, heiress, media personality and fashion designer, Paris Hilton, share their birthday today – February 17. On his birthday, Jordan turns 47, whereas Hilton turns 29.

Michael Jordan is enjoying his retired life afforded by his sportsman stardom. On the other hand, Hilton is enjoying a resurgence of various things, after her much celebrated DUI arrest a few years ago. Aside this, Hilton is a perfect model for anyone who’s thinking of developing their personal brand. Paris is known for being famous, knowing the best parties, wearing the latest fashions, and having only the best of everything.

Michael Jordan is known for excellence on and now off the basketball court. There is a great contrast in both of these personalities, amidst such a big common factor that they were born on the same day except, of course, the year of birth!!!

Happy Birthday to both

J.D. Salinger, author of the cult-classic 1951 novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” has died at the age of 91.

Salinger died on Wednesday at his home in Cornish, N.H., according to the Associated Press (AP). 

His death was announced in a statement released by Salinger’s longtime literary agent, Phyllis Westberg:

“It was announced by his son, on behalf of the family and through the Harold Ober agency, that J.D. Salinger died peacefully yesterday, January 27th, of natural causes at his home in New Hampshire at the age of 91. Despite having broken his hip in May, his health had been excellent until a rather sudden decline after the new year. He was not in any pain before or at the time of his death.

He is survived by his wife, Colleen, his son Matt, his daughter Margaret, and three grandsons, Gannon, Max and Avery. He is also survived by his ex-wife and mother of their children, Claire Douglas. In keeping with his life long, uncompromising desire to protect and defend his privacy there will be no service, and the family asks that people’s respect for him, his work, and his privacy be extended to them, individually and collectively, during this time.

Salinger had remarked that he was in this world but not of it. His body is gone but the family hopes that he is still with those he loves, whether they are religious or historical figures, personal friends or fictional characters.”

The much anticipated movie “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” hits theaters at midnight.

The movie is based on the second book, New Moon, in the Twilight series about a teenage vampire romance by author Stephenie Meyer.  It opens in the United States and Canada on Friday, November 20, 2009, but fans have already been buying tickets in advance.  Online ticket sellers Fandango.com and MovieTickets.com reported this week that “New Moon” is their biggest advance ticket seller of all time.  (To buy advance tickets to “New Moon” and find show times near you, click here.)

The movie is expected to gross nearly $100 million from movie theater box offices when it debuts this weekend, and score one of the biggest openings ever for a non-summer film, according to Reuters.  The first film in the series, “Twilight,” which debuted one year ago, reportedly made $69.6 million in its first weekend at the box office.

The Hollywood premiere with the cast of “New Moon” was held on Monday at Mann’s Village Theater in Westwood, CA.  Some fans camped out several days ahead of time to get a close spot in hopes of meeting the cast at the premiere.

“New Moon” stars Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson, and Kristen Stewart.  It follows the romance between teenager Bella Swan (Stewart) and vampire Edward Cullen (Pattinson), along with her friendship with werewolf Jacob Black (Lautner).  For more about the film, check out the official Web site.

Holiday shoppers can take advantage of early Black Friday deals at Walmart.

The store is currently featuring 100 toys for under $10.  To see the list, click here. Walmart also announced that its online stores will offer many hot books for just $9 and free shipping.  Customers who purchase a BlackBerry will also receive a $100 gift card.  For more details on the current deals at Walmart, click here.

The official Walmart Black Friday ad has not yet been released.  The store has announced, though, that it will be open 24 hours on Black Friday.  For more about Walmart’s safety campaign for this year, click here.

Black Friday, which is the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally marks the beginning of Christmas shopping in the United States. Many retailers offer doorbuster sales as an incentive for shoppers.

Several Web sites are dedicated to Black Friday sales for stores such as Sears, Walmart, Toys ‘R’ Us, Target, Kmart, and more.  Here are a few to help shoppers get started:

• BlackFriday.fm 
• Black-Friday.net
• BFads.net
• BlackFriday.info
• BlackFriday.com
• BlackFriday.GottaDeal.com

 Know of some good Black Friday deals? Leave them in the comments below.