E-Pix

While Wesley Snipes was busy protecting mankind, he may have forgotten to pay a few bills.

United Talent Agency, Inc. sued the "Blade" star for almost $1.5 million Monday, alleging that Snipes failed to pay the full commissions he owes the company for securing him roles in the third "Blade" movie and in three other films.



Per the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Snipes had an oral agreement with UTA (that he is now in breach of) to fork over 10 percent of his earnings from those four roles, the most lucrative being his third turn as Blade, the vampire-human hybrid whose lonely mission it is to save the world from the undead.

These terms will self-destruct in five seconds.

Okay, there’s a little more time involved than that but, as Tom Cruise’s production contract with Paramount nears its eleventh hour, we have proof that not even "Jerry Maguire" is safe once a studio has decided it wants to tighten its belt.



The deal that Cruise and his longtime production partner Paula Wagner have had with Paramount Pictures, which currently pays them as much as $10 million a year to cover project development costs and other expenses, was set to expire Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported, and the studio’s latest offer doesn’t come close to matching those lucrative terms.

Spike Lee’s movie about Hurricane Katrina might just get an audience from the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but the celebrity director shouldn’t necessarily expect President Bush to watch it.

Lindsay Lohan’s life might be looking pretty good to Mel Gibson about now.



Whereas Lohan is being chewed out for "ongoing all-night heavy partying," Gibson is being derided as a "bigot" and an "anti-Semite." And his career is being subjected to speculation that it’s endangered.



One A-list Hollywood agent is calling for a boycott of Gibson, while the head of the Anti-Defamation League says Gibson’s apology wasn’t enough.

It’s hip-hop’s version of the Kennedy assassination.

Nine years since the Notorious B.I.G. was killed in a drive-by shooting, the Los Angeles Police Department announced Monday the formation of a new six-member task force looking for fresh clues that might finally solve the murder of one of rap’s biggest stars.

LAPD Chief William J. Bratton launched the new investigation in the wake of last summer’s mistrial in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the relatives of Biggie, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, against the City of Angels accusing the department of covering up rogue police officer’s involvement in his shooting.

Michael Jackson’s accounting skills are once again being called into question.

The oft-sued artist was named in a new lawsuit filed by Los Angeles law firm Ayscough & Marar, which claims Jackson owes more than $200,000 in legal fees for services rendered in 2005.

Actor Mel Gibson entered rehab after his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, his spokesman said Monday.

Top-grossing weekend movies, according to Exhibitor Relations:

1. "Miami Vice," $25.2 million

2. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest," $20.4 million

3. "John Tucker Must Die," $14 million

4. "Monster House," $11.5 million

5. "The Ant Bully," $8.1 million

Mel Gibson has retreated to rehab.



The Oscar winner, who admitted to a "horrific" alcoholic relapse that saw him arrested for allegedly driving under the influence and blasted for reputedly going on an anti-Semitic rant, is in a treatment facility, publicist Alan Nierob confirmed to E! News on Monday.


It was not known exactly where Gibson is or when he checked in. Word of the rehab stint was first reported by Star magazine.

The drive-in movie theater is making a muted comeback in the United States. Why? It’s a smokers’ and drinkers’ paradise where pajama-clad children and crying babies are welcome. While its not a return to the heyday of the 1950s (there were more than 4,000 outdoor theaters in the US), 20 new drive-in cinemas have opened up in the last year.