Create your own free news widgets.

Front Page: Allen proposes vote on AMPTP's offer -- Amidst a brutal internal war, leaders of the Screen Actors Guild have put their divisive strike authorization on hold until at least next week so they can explore making a run at a last-ditch round of negotiations with the congloms.

Music News: Rap record label auctioned off for $18 million -- Wide Awake Entertainment, a label less than a year old and with the release of just one recording to its credit, was given the right to purchase Death Row Records for $18 million on Thursday.

Yes, one of the passengers on US Airways Flight 1549 bore a striking resemblance to Jeremy Piven - at least on some TV shots - but the 'Entourage' actor was not on the plane.

Weekly: Sellers and buyers both have modest hopes -- There's a new reality at Sundance: dramatically tempered expectations. Amid a tough economy, a veritable decimation of specialty-film divisions and a run of less-than-stellar returns for last year's crop of Sundance faves, sellers are coming in with much more modest hopes than in other recent editions. And buyers aren't looking to disabuse them of that outlook.

Legit Reviews: Like a swift kick to the head, 'Soul of Shaolin' is a rushed, expertly trained assault that leaves you slightly confused afterward. Battered audiences will be able to discern enough continuity to get the kidnapped-child-becoming-a-warrior plot straight, but the Chinese government's first attack on Broadway is a little weak on storytelling and variety. Some of the stunts are amazing, but with a proscenium as high as the Marquis', spoiled Gothamite martial arts fans will likely be disappointed by a dearth of the aerial feats that, er, punched up better (and much cheaper) Korean actioners 'Jump' and 'Break Out.'

When "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" premieres on June 1, the show will have a whole new look as well as a new host, but it will still have a sense of humor. At least it will if O'Brien has anything to do with it -- which he does. "Television is changing rapidly, and I want to make sure [the new 'Tonight Show'] isn't too buttoned up," O'Brien told reporters at the NBC Television Critics Association junket at the Universal Hilton. "I want to make sure it is funny and a worthy 'Tonight Show.'" That said, O'Brien is very much aware of the all the buzz about the changing of the guard, especially since NBC announced its plans for Jay Leno to have a one-hour nightly series at 10 p.m.

"The Biggest Loser" will continue to help Americans shed unwanted pounds -- at least for one more year -- as NBC today announced that the show has been given a pickup through the 2009-2010 season."I love that show. I inherited it," Paul Telegdy, executive vice president, Alternative Programming, NBC and Universal Media Studios tells ET exclusively. "I love it when you get a toy that you like. I love it when I talk to people who aren't in the business about that show. It is incredibly inspiring. Every year people make resolutions to be healthier and that show is the No. 1 tool kit available to people to be inspired." As for the fate of Shannon, this season's "The Biggest Loser" contestant who was charged with domestic violence after an incident in suburban Detroit last month, a spokesperson for the show says that at this time the matter won't effect her participation in the series.

TV Reviews: For those understandably enamored of the 1939 Laurence Olivier-Merle Oberon version, this 'Masterpiece Classic' retelling of 'Wuthering Heights' does offer a few modern compensations, starting with an intense Tom Hardy as Heathcliff, who, along with Charlotte Riley's less-impressive Cathy, occupies the center of Emily Bronte's obsessive love quadrangle.

If any film demands lip-locking ravishing Priyanka Chopra does not hold back. She kissed Akshay in her very first film Andaaz and the lady does everything to bring her character alive in reel. She ...

American Idol 8's second night, which featured Kansas City auditions and Jason Castro's brother Michael Castro (Kara: 'You have this, 'I have a secret' vibe'), drew more viewers than its first night, a significant achievement.As Fox said in a press release, that's 'the first time in five years that American Idol's Wednesday premiere has increased over its Tuesday debut in Adults 18-49 (since Jan '04) and the first time in the five years that Total Viewers retained at least 100% of its Tuesday debut audience.'Among total viewers, 30.4 million tuned in, while adults 18 to 34 increased 10 percent and adults 18 to 49 increased one percent night-to-night, Fox said. Still, with viewers 18 to 49, there was 'a decline of 8% compared with the first Wednesday show last year,' as the Los Angeles Times reports.That's not good, because the decline in ratings for American Idol 8's premiere (compared to last year) was most severe among the younger viewers coveted most by networks and advertiser