It took decades before J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” (LotR) trilogy was lovingly made into a movie trilogy by Peter Jackson. Now it seems that it’s going to take longer than expected for the prequel novel, “The Hobbit”, to be made into a film – two films, in fact. After two years of production delays, Guillermo del Toro says he’s forced to quit, as far as directing goes, but will still co-write the screenplays with Jackson and Fran Walsh.

Del Toro’s no stranger to niche filcks, having directed one or more of Hellboy and Blade, and one of my all-time faves, Pan’s Labrinyth, amongst numerous foreign language films. Now when you look at the list of films he’s currently part of that are in development, you realize how busy he really is. Amongst the 10 films he’s currently involved in are Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. (Though some of these projects might disappear, depending on how the sale of in-debt MGM goes.)

The logical choice to direct would of course be Peter Jackson, but he had declined previously, and if I remember correctly, it had been because of scheduling problems. MGM has yet to give their approval, yet the two movies are still scheduled for Dec 2012 and Dec 2013. All three movies in the ‘Rings’ trilogy were released in consecutive years around Christmas time.

While legions of Tolkien fans are likely to see the movies no matter when they come out, no matter who directs them, or how well they’re made, it’s obvious that with Jackson and Del Toro still handling writing duties that the material will be top notch. Hopefully they’ll find a worthy replacement — I can’t think of any one director who has the ‘fantasy’ touch of either of these two men. Maybe we can all hope and pray that Peter Jackson’s commitments work themselves out and eventually does take the directing role. A lot could happen between now and the expected production start date, which is Dec 2010. I’m crossing my fingers that it’s not Tim Burton, who’s style just isn’t suited to these stories.

I’ve always wondered why Celine Dion only ever had one child with husband/ long-time manager Rene Angelil, but apparently it’s because of pregnancy difficulties. Now, at the age of 42, after six attempts at in-vitro fertilization and the use of acupuncture, she’s said to be pregnant with twins. Good luck to Celine, but given how skinny she is, I’m not sure how she’s going to handle being pregnant with twins.

So wait, what? Brad and Angelina are openly affectionate in public, albeit at a private beach party. So I guess rumors of their relationship’s demise were just that, rumors. (Then again, rumors of them splitting have happened before.) On the other hand, Naveen Andrews (Sayid Jarrah on Lost) and Barbara Hershey, who started her film and TV career before Andrews was born, have called it quits. Actually, they called it quits six months ago but news of the split only surfaced now. According to People, they’ve been together for most of the span of time since they met in 1998.

Gary Coleman’s “heartbroken” parents want answers about his death? Um, aren’t these the same parents, along with his business manager, that Coleman sued because they appropriated many millions of his earnings, leaving him with so little that he eventually was working as a security guard? About you giving some answers? Do you wonder that you weren’t called to his bedside before he passed away?

Yeah, that’s what society needs. Michelle Homewrecker Bombshell McGee promoting Ashley Madison, in the nude. This is the pimping dating agency whose commercials seem to encourage people to cheat on spouses almost to the point of justification. Hey, if you want to pay Bombshell, whose name is now associated withbreaking up marriages, go ahead. Maybe it’ll put some sense into would be cheaters who don’t want to end up like her: despised.

Sandra Bullock’s not letting her breakup with Jesse James Douchebag get in the way of her relationship with his three children. The Star says she managed to have a girl’s day out at The Beverly Hills Hotel with Jesse’s youngest girl, Sunny. Kind of tells a lot, doesn’t it? Jesse has said he wants to see the baby boy they adopted together, Louis Bardo, and Sandra will see Jesse’s other two kids, Jesse Jr. and Chandler. Oh and Jesse, just another reminder, above, of what you’re going to miss out on.

Charlie Sheen is possibly pleading guilty as part of a plea bargain in a domestic case, which stems from his being arrested for assaulting wife Brooke Mueller in Aspen. If he does plead guilty, he’ll spend up to 45 days in jail. The current charge is “felony menacing,” which carries a bigger penalty that might interfere with his $2 trillion dollars per episode day job as Charlie Harper in Two and a Half Men. For the record, good ol’ Charlie says he’s innocent. Sheen currently pays out over $125K/month to ex-wife Denise Richards and current wife Mueller.

So Alicia Keys is not only pregnant but engaged to rapper Swizz Beatz, aka Kasseem Dean. If you’re not sure who he is, according to People, he’s produced music for his fiancee — and inspired her — and worked with Jay-Z, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani. This player already has two kids from previous relationships. As in plural. So at this point I guess he’s heading towards having three baby mommas. But Alicia is looking forward to the experience of being a mother.

Wow Glen Beck, aren’t you so effing brave and clever, putting down a little girl on your stupid show? Seriously, you’re such a hater that you have to mock Malia Obama? What the eff did she ever do to you, moron? You want your family left alone but you pick on little girls? Do you feel all smart and powerful now? Were you dropped on your head a few too many times as a child?

Country singer Carrie Underwood is going to marry real soon, according to source for The Awful Truth. She’s been engaged to hockey player Mike Fisher. Also, Megan Fox, who is not engaged, might marry on/off-again beau Brian Austin Green — he who had one of the least liked characters on the original 90210 TV series. E! Online says that someone close to the couple indicated that Brian had moved into the new 5-bdrm home Megan purchased in LA, and that they will get married. (I wonder how Brian puts up with the fact that Megan doesn’t like to cook or clean and has all these obsessive-compulsive quirks.) Now, there’s a bit more to the story. Before Megan came into his life, Brian was with another hottie, Vanessa Marcil (92010 and Las Vegas; pictured above), who mothered his child. Vanessa is now engaged to Carmine Giovinazzo (CSI:NY) but was once married Corey Feldman. (If I continue this line of thinking, Kevin Bacon will probably appear somewhere along the way, according to the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon concept.)

Singer Cheryl Cole, aka Cheryl Ann Tweedy, has filed for divorce from husband and soccer player Ashley Cole. Reason: “unreasonable behavior” of her estranged husband. I have no idea what that means (actually, it apparently means he was unfaithful) but she did once say that notorious celebrity meanie Simon Cowell was the most charismatic man she’s ever met (as per her IMDB profile). Just saying. She apparently wants a clean break and none of Ashley’s money. Just wondering if she’ll keep his last name, now that she’s had it for five years.

Oooops. Sarah Jessica Parker accidentally called husband Matthew Broderick average, while on David Letterman, then dug herself a deeper hole as she tried to explain that she was referring to his height, “not in personality, intellect, charisma, talent… Anyway he’s average in height as I understand, so the odds of our son being average in height and weight is perhaps promising.”

Radio/ television personality Art Linkletter, born Arthur Gordon Kelly in Moose Jaw, Canada, passed away yesterday at the age of 97. In addition to being appointed to President Richard Nixon’s national advisory council for drug abuse prevention (after one daughter’s suicide upon which he blames LSD), Linkletter was a talk-show pioneer, a motivational speaker and creator and/or host of several shows, including Kids Say the Darnedest Things (1998).

Reese Witherspoon might be taking a cue from Britney Spears in the relationship department. Reese has been dating her agent slash boyfriend for four months and is now shacking up with him. Spears is dating Jason Trawick, whom she recently fired as her manager. Then again, not all stars date other stars, though Reese was formerly with Jake Gyllenhaal, whose Prince of Persia movie opens in N. America this Friday, May 28th.

Country singer Mindy McCready was hospitalized in Florida for a possible overdose. McCready, who had been beaten by ex-boyfriend back in 2005, spent 9 episodes in Feb-Mar 2010 on Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew. On the other hand, McCready told TMZ that she didn’t OD, only had a bad reaction to a painkiller she took, possibly because of a broken toe.

Wow, it must be nice to be Naomi Campbell. Seems like all supermodels seem to have billionaire lovers these days and Naomi is no different. Heres, Vladimir Doronin, gave her a $1M birthday bash for her 40th, which was actually on May 22nd. Black Eyed Peas and Grace Jones played for her. Nice.

Actress Monica Belluci (above) recently gave birth to her second daughter, Leonie, with husband Vincent Cassel. Other new moms include Betheny Frankel of The Real Housewives of New York City, whose daughter Bryn arrived early.

Oh, so apparently Kelly Killoren Bensimon — who recently threatened to quit Facebook if people didn’t stop wasting her time saying hurtful things — didn’t have a nervous breakdown on The Real Housewives of New York City last week when she blew up at her costars. She had a nervous breakthrough, according to her. Apparently her mean castmates were bullying her and she reacted — something she promises not to do again. Honestly, I don’t understand her comment about her time being wasted, given that she seems to spend most it in a bikini and presumably away from Facebook anyway.

Elin Nordegren and Rachel Uchitel aren’t the only ones getting relationship hush money. Kanye West apparently gave Amber Rose a million bucks to keep quiet about their relationship. Ok, it doesn’t compare to the $10M Itchypuss Uchitel suposedly got from Tiger Woods (and she didn’t even keep quiet, I’m guessing), nor to the $750M Elin will probably receive in her divorce settlement from Tiger, but it’s a start.

Kate Gosselin of the reality show Jon & Kate Plus 8 moved on with her life after hubby left, and it looks as if she’s done quite well. Word is that she received over $100K per episode on Dancing With the Stars. She only lasted 5 weeks, but $500K is a pretty nice haul for a single mother of 8 children.

Today’s celebrity birthdays include Kristin Scott Thomas (50; wow, already?), Alfred Molina (57), John C. Reilly (45), Bob Dylan (69; no way!), Will Sasso (35), and Priscilla Presley (65; yikes, it’s Vampirella).

Alicia Keys doesn’t let a little thing like being pregnant and already showing her baby bump stop her from performing. Good for you, girl.

A TV movie about President Obama, Little Obama, will cover his time spent in Indonesia in his youth. The movie airs Jun 17th in Indonesia. No word yet on whether it’ll be available in the U.S.

Matt Damon is about to be a daddy for the fourth time. Wife Luciana Barroso is pregnant with the couple’s third child. Damon also has a daughter from a previous marriage, according to People, but nothing’s listed about it in his IMDB profile.

James Marsters, who still looks quite youthful despite being 47, is getting married for the second time — this time to his longtime girlfriend Patricia Rahman, 24, a design student. When you turn 48 in late August, you’ll literally be twice her age. I mean, you do know that you only played a vampire on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and aren’t actually one in real life? Well best wishes, and good luck with the remake of the classic Hawaii Five-O TV series this fall.

Elin Nordegren, Tiger Woods’ wife, wants $750M from the golfer, for their pending divorce settlement. She’s also reportedly planning to move back to Europe, and wants full custody of their kids. On top of all this, she has so far refused to sign a lifetime confidentiality agreement not to talk about their split. Wow. No idea if that’d be the biggest divorce settlement ever (I doubt it), but it’s pretty high up there.

Bret Michaels is planning to be at the Celebrity Apprentice finale, despite having gotten out of hospital for the second time this month and the third time this year — all for different problems. He’s obviously not at top form but rest doesn’t seem to be on his agenda. Denial is a common trait amongst 95% of the Type 2 Diabetics I know (which is quite a few), but Bret’s a Type 1, diagnosed at age 6. He’s survived a long time, but it seems he’s dangerously close to the edge.

Valerie Bertinelli kicked Eddie Van Halen to the curb several years ago and is venturing into marriage territory once again, this time with new fiancee Tom Vitale. Vitale proposed to her in Florence, Italy. Valerie, who just turned 50, still has the same lovely smile she always had, way back from her One Day At a Time days. She’s still one hot momma.

Terrence Howard, who was Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes in Iron Man (2009) and who’ll be playing Nelson Mandela in an upcoming biopic, got married in January but kept it quiet until now. His new wife, Michelle Ghent-Howard, is his second wife, though he was married twice to first wife Lori McCommas, with whom he has three children. Someone better update his IMDB profile. He kept his new marriage so quiet that it has him and Lori listed as being separated.

Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper are claiming a “break,” which might explain why Cooper was seen partying with Seyfried’s Mean Girls co-star Lindsay Lohan in Europe, while LiLo was in Cannes doing God knows what there. Seyfried recently said that she wasn’t sure Cooper was “the one” for her not.

Ashton Kutcher says he was “out of control with women,” essentially a womanizer, but recently also implied that being with Demi Moore settled him. Really, Ash? Who woulda thunk it? It’s not like anyone ever thought you had a strange resemblance in real life to your doofus, womanizing character Michael Kelso in That 70s Show. It’s not like you were rumored to have snuck around the White House during the Bush Era and slept with both of the Pres’ daughters. No no, we would never have guessed you were a womanizer. Well good luck to you, and don’t forget to tell the bald dude in the picture above that it’s over, that it has been over for five years. Seriously, why is he always hanging around you and Demi?

If you’ve lusted after either model Audrina Patridge of The Hills (especially after seeing her Carl’s Jr. burger and bikini ads) or her boyfriend of four months, Ryan Cabrera, they’ve split and are now single. Apparently Ryan’s too much of a party boy for Audrina’s liking. She must have liked him enough to have renewed the relationship, which original started a few years ago. But he must be over it, as he’s already hanging out with another brunette. Hey Audrina, there’s a Carl’s near me, in case you’re hungry and want to re-enact your bikini photo shoot.

Uh oh. Lindsay Lohan is fooling herself if she thinks she won’t do time in the slammer when gets back to the USA. Short of being offered a private jet to whisk her back, she’s just not going to make it back to Los Angeles in time for her court hearing tomorrow. Since she hasn’t completed all of her required alcohol education classes in a timely manner, the judge is getting ready to issue an arrest warrant due to Lindsay’s probation violation. Hmm. Maybe her idiot loving, caring parents didn’t spank her enough?

Jennifer Lopez never seems to stop with the crazy rider demands for her appearances. The demand for a helicopter on standby is already crazy, but $3,000 diamond-encrusted headphones to block out the sounds of motor boats in Monaco, where she was appearing at the World Music Awards? No word on whether she demanded that the entire populace of Monaco not look her in the eyes and instead look at her ass — something she’s rumored to have demanded of low-life extra actors on movie sets.

Courtney Love seems to be a pro at stirring things up and keeping her life exciting — at least for us. NY Daily News says that Courtney’s been getting it on with Andre Balazs, Uma Thurman’s ex, and creating a ruckus at New York’s Boom Boom Room. Apparently she had a meltdown when Balazs started talking to a business associate. Seriously, dude, what’s wrong with you? Here’s a comparison pic, in case you’ve lost perspective:

Congrats to model Claudia Schiffer and actress Amy Adams, who both gave birth to baby girls recently. In related news, tarty, half-witted British singer Lily Allen is still not pregnant — or so she says. Well if you’re still smoking cigs like the last time you had a miscarriage, thank goodness. Here’s a gratuitious picture, above, of Claudia not pregnant, and a shot, below, of Lily being her tarty self.

Former Food Network chef Juan-Carlos Cruz has pleaded not guilty in hiring for trying to have his wife, Jennifer Campbell, murdered. The chef supopsedly hired homeless men to the deed. But wait, there’s more. There was possibly a murder/ suicide plot having to do with her inability to have children, and wanting to end her life — something against her Catholic upbringing.

Sympathies to John Travolta, whose dogs were killed by an airport service vehicle in Bangor, Maine. Travolta and his wife own a home in Isleboro, Maine and were passing through Bangor.

Kelly Killoren Bensimon, above, is threatening to quit Facebook. If you have no idea who she is, don’t feel bad. She’s a cast member of the TV show Real Housewives of New York City. Why is she quitting? Seems like someone wrote something hurtful and “wasted her time.” Poor woman. She must have grown up believing everyone in the world would like her. There, now you’re informed and won’t have to add her. But who knows, maybe Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg (a 26 year old worth over a billion), who’ll be depicted in an upcoming movie about the social networking website, will give her a call to change her mind. Yeah, right.