UGGIE TO MAKE OSCAR APPEARANCE!

The owner of Uggie, The Artist's scene-stealing dog, recently said he planned to retire the pooch, but apparently not before the dog makes an appearance at the star-studded Academy Awards later this month. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Uggie is spending this week rehearsing a skit with Oscar host Billy Crystal. The 2012 Academy Awards air February 26^th on ABC.

BEHIND THE X FACTOR FIRINGS!

Monday was a bloodbath at Fox's X Factor, with Steve Jones, Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul getting their walking papers. Paula confirmed the rumor on Tuesday. "Yes, it's true; I won't be returning to The X Factor next season," she said in a statement. Although she was fired from the program, an insider says it was "amicable," with Paula adding that she still considers producer Simon Cowell "a dear friend of mine." Cowell released his own statement about the firings, saying, "I want to say a massive thank you to Paula, Nicole and Steve for being part of The X Factor last year." He then added, "You do develop friendships with the people you work with and Paula, in particular, is a very close friend and I expect to be working with her on another project in the near future."  According to the  Hollywood Reporter, the decision to can the trio came after Simon Cowell called a meeting with his team to figure out what went wrong during season one.  According to sources, Abdul was deemed "irrelevant to the mix," especially since most of her contestants were booted early in the competition. Reports claim that even though Cowell personally recruited Paula for X Factor, he did not call her personally to tell her about the firing. Sources say Cowell didn't call Jones either, although he did reportedly break the news to Scherzinger personally.  There's no word on who'll replace the ousted trio, although insiders say Cowell wants a bigger celebrity on the panel next season (LA Reid is safe for now). As for why the mass axing happened, insiders say it all has to do with perception. While X Factor was a modest hit for Fox, it didn't do nearly as well as Cowell predicted it would in the press. It was also one of the most expensive productions on TV.

TV TIDBITS!

�� NBC is reportedly developing a spin-off of The Office which will revolve around Rainn Wilson's character Dwight Schrute.  The series will likely explore the Schrute family farm, and will involve multiple generations of the family.

MISCELLANEOUS MOVIE NEWS!

�� Selena Gomez is trying to shed her good girl image. Justin Bieber's main squeeze has signed on to appear in the indie film Spring Breakers, directed by controversial Kids director Harmony Korine, and also starring James Franco, Vanessa Hudgens and Emma Roberts. The three actresses will play friends who rob a bank to pay for their spring break vacations.

�� Russell Brand has signed on to star in the haunted house movie The Hauntrepreneur.  According to Variety, the film "revolves around a family that has trouble adjusting to a new town and hires a peculiar man…to help them. In an attempt to bring them together, the man creates a haunted house filled with an odd cast of characters.”

Did Cameron Diaz get an enhancement? Rumor has it that the Bad Teacher actress got a boost to her bosom. What do you think?

Hot! Hot! Hot! David Beckham strips down for his new H&M underwear line. The soccer stud shows off his hot body in the slick black and white ad campaign. The collection of briefs, tanks and shorts will be available at H&M beginning February 2, 2012.

MISCELLANEOUS MOVIE NEWS!

�� Catherine Zeta-Jones will star in Steven Soderbergh's next film Side Effects, which Blake Lively, Jude Law and Channing Tatum are in talks to join. The thriller follows a troubled and depressed woman (Lively), who fears the release of her husband (Tatum) from prison.  Zeta-Jones will play a doctor in the film, as will Law, whose character has an affair with Lively's.

�� Warner Bros. wants to make another Hangover movie, and it sure is going to cost them. According to the Hollywood Reporter, stars Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms are negotiating together and they each want $15 million to reprise their roles in Hangover 3.  Sources say the studio will likely meet their demands, and hopes shooting will begin this summer for a Memorial Day, 2013 release.

�� Abduction's Lily Collins has dropped out of the planned Evil Dead remake, citing "scheduling issues."

�� Javier Bardem will not be lending his voice to the upcoming animated film Despicable Me 2. Bardem was in talks to voice the lead bad guy, a villain named El Macho, but negotiations have now ended.

TV TIDBITS!

�� Bethenny Frankel's planned daytime talk show is getting a summer try- out. The program, Bethenny, produced by Ellen DeGeneres, will air on Fox in major markets like New York City and Los Angeles.

�� Simon Cowell is teaming with Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to produce a new international reality program to find the world's greatest DJ. "The show will comb the world to find a new breed of talent," said Jada.  So far there's no word on when or where the yet-to-be-titled show will air.

Van Halen's debuts a new video for their single, "Tattoo"! The studio album, A Different Kind of Truth is their first in 28 years with David Lee Roth. It's set to hit stores on Feburuary 7th.

The constant slow leak of new tracks off the forthcoming Van Halen album A Different Kind of Truth continued yesterday with the exclusive release of a 90-second preview of “Blood and Fire.” The album arrives on February 7, but Rolling Stone magazine has a preview of “Blood and Fire” on its website right now. The Van Halen 2012 North American tour takes flight on February 18 in Louisville, KY.

AMAZING RACE TEAMS ANNOUNCED!

CBS yesterday announced the 11 teams competing on the 20^th season of The Amazing Race, and one pair will look awfully familiar to fans of reality TV. Among the competitors are last year's Big Brother winner Rachel Reilly and her fiancé and Big Brother housemate Brendon Villegas. This season's cast also includes a pair of married clowns, border patrol agents, twins and dating divorcees. The season will see the show embarking on its first ever visits to Paraguay and Azerbaijan, as well as stops in Argentina, Tanzania, Italy and Germany. The 20^th season of The Amazing Race kicks off Sunday, February 19^th at 8 pm.

Q-The Amazing Race has won the Emmy for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program eight out of the last nine years. What show was the only program to beat them? Top Chef

DEMI SUFFERED SEIZURE BEFORE HOSPITALIZATION!

Sources close to Demi Moore claim the actress suffered a seizure Monday night, which is what prompted the call to 911 and her eventual hospitalization. "She collapsed after having an epileptic seizure," a source tells Radaronline. According to TMZ, Demi was doing whip-its, a.k.a. inhaling nitrous oxide,  and had a reaction, lapsing into semi-consciousness.  Demi has now checked herself into a facility, reportedly due to substance abuse problems, although one insider tells Radar she is also "getting treated for anorexia." Adds the insider, "She has not taken care of her health at all lately and has lost a ton of weight." Meanwhile, Demi's current condition has forced her to drop out of the movie Lovelace. Demi was supposed to make a cameo in the film, playing Gloria Steinem.