Hottest Hollywood Headlines

1. A big shock on “American Idol” Wednesday night when Chris Daughtry, predicted by many to be a lock for the win, was voted off the show. Katharine McPhee had the second-lowest number of votes. (AP)

2. Keith Richards was discharged today from a hospital in New Zealand after surgery to relieve pressure in his head following a fall. (AP)

3. Christian leaders in the U.S. are sidestepping traditional boycotts in reaction to the release of the movie “The Da Vinci Code”, in hopes of avoiding further controversy that they feel will only serve to draw wider attention to the film. (yahoo/AP)

4. Members of the Catholic group Opus Dei are taking the opportunity of the release of “The Da Vinci Code” to attempt to educate moviegoers, and the public at large, about the practices and beliefs of their organization, with a new edition of Opus Dei founder Jose Maria Escriva’s book of reflections, “The Way”, timed to coincide with the film’s release. (Reuters)

5. Tom Hanks has cracked the Guinness Book of World Records, earning the title of Actor with Most Consecutive $100 Million Grossing Movies, starting with 1998’s “Saving Private Ryan”. (yahoo/E!)

6. Roger Friedman reports Chris Tucker signed on to ?Rush Hour 3? for $25 million, making Tucker and Will Smith the two highest paid actors in the world. Roger also notes the seemingly fake ?commercial? last night for the Hanso Foundation that aired during ?Lost,? which followed a storyline on the show concerning the mysterious foundation. (FoxNews)

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7. USA Today looks at the spiritual leadership role of Oprah in today?s society, even calling her Rev. Oprah. (USAToday)

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8. Local police in Cannes are planning to strike during next week’s 2006 Cannes Film Festival in the South of France, but city officials vow the strike will not interrupt any of the planned festivities. (Reuters)

9. Roger Friedman of Fox News is reporting that Paramount Pictures is in a “panic” after the disappointing opening of “Mission: Impossible III”, with the movie having a 72% drop from Sunday to Monday. Sources also say that the studio is reportedly holding budget meetings and talking about layoffs. (FoxNews.com)

10. People magazine is reporting that Lindsay Lohan has been spotted smooching singer Jamie Burke, who was briefly linked to supermodel Kate Moss in January. Lohan’s rep had no comment. (people.com)

11. Matt Damon recently returned from a trip to Africa with a renewed passion for fighting AIDS and with praise for President Bush’s relief program. “I just came away feeling like we’re going to beat this,” Damon told the AP Wednesday. (AP)

12. Regis Philbin is headed back to primetime TV this summer, hosting NBC’s “America’s Got Talent”, a twice-a-week competition/result show. The series will debut Jun 21. (yahoo/AP)

13. Ashlee Simpson laughed off rumors Wednesday that she’s had a nose job — but she didn’t deny it, either. “Everybody’s already saying it, so I just don’t talk about it. I’m like, OK, whatever. It doesn’t bother me.” (AP)

14. Julia Louis-Dreyfus will return to “Saturday Night Live” as guest host this weekend, the same show where she began her career over two decades ago. (AP)

15. Bravo is going ahead with ?Tabloid Wars,? a reality show about New York Daily News reporters, and ?Can We Dish?? that will feature Joan Rivers dishing about the week?s pop culture. (Reuters)

16. NBC is expected to greenlight an untitled Tina Fey comedy and three dramas, ?Friday Night Lights,? ?Heroes? and ?Raines.? (Reuters/HR)

17. ABC is working on new shows involving Ted Danson, David Arquette, Taye Diggs and more, while the Kim Cattrall sitcom pilot is believed to be a no-go. (Reuters/HR)

18. J.J. Abrams gets the greenlight from ABC for a new drama called ?Six Degrees? about a group of NYC strangers whose lives become intertwined. (Variety)

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19. Showtime is turning the life story of Billy Joel into a biographical series. (Variety)

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20. A Catholic girls high school in Detroit has canceled a concert by Ne-Yo because of sexually explicit lyrics on his album. (ABCNews)

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21. Snoop Dogg flew into London Wednesday for a meeting with police after getting involved in a brawl at Heathrow Airport last month. Snoop was handed a caution by police for use of threatening words or behavior.  No statement from Snoop yet. (BBCNews.com)

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22. The nightclub where rapper Proof died in shootout will close for a year under a deal with authorities. (AP)

23. Smokey Robinson will receive an honorary degree from Howard University on Sat, May 13, at the college’s 138th commencement exercises. (press release)

24. The former manager for the rock group Great White was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday after a plea deal in which he pled guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter, in connection with the 2003 blaze that killed 100 people. Daniel Biechele lit the pyrotechnics display that ignited foam on the walls and ceiling of the nightclub, which caused the fourth-deadliest nightclub blaze in U.S. history. (AP)

25. George Lee Lutz, whose brief tenancy in an Amityville, NY home in the 1970s inspired one of the most famous haunted house stories ever and two movies (”The Amityville Horror”), died of heart disease on Monday at 59. (AP)

26. Colombian singer-songwriter Soraya, who won a Latin Grammy in 2003 and later a breast cancer spokeswoman, died Wednesday in Miami at the age of 37. (yahoo/Reuters)