The guy who played one of the founding investors of Facebook on the big screen is trying to breathe new life into Facebook’s long bested competitor, MySpace. It’s hard to imagine how MySpace is ever going to come back at this point, but Justin Timberlake is on board now that MySpace was just sold for $35 million. He’s invested an unknown amount of his own money too. They’re trying to make MySpace into some kind of entertainment destination where people can interact with celebrities and musicians. It doesn’t sound like a bad idea actually, and in the handful of times I’ve visited MySpace in the past couple of years I’ve noticed some mildly interesting changes there that didn’t manage to keep me on the site for more than five minutes or compel me to come back.

Timberlake had a key role in Oscar-nominated The Social Network about Facebook and its founders and is now taking a lead role in the future of MySpace, which has seen its user numbers decline amid competition from Facebook, which has been the dominant social network.

Under its new owner, which finalized an acquisition for $35 million on Wednesday, MySpace is expected to focus on music. It has long been a popular way for music talent to present its work online and drive fans to concerts and the like.

“There’s a need for a place where fans can go to interact with their favorite entertainers, listen to music, watch videos, share and discover cool stuff and just connect. Myspace has the potential to be that place,” said Timberlake in a statement. “Art is inspired by people and vice versa, so there’s a natural social component to entertainment. I’m excited to help revitalize Myspace by using its social media platform to bring artists and fans together in one community.”

It is not clear what size ownership stake Timberlake, an actor and Grammy-winning recording artist, will have in the company, but a Specific representative said he paid for it. News Corp. will retain a piece of the company as part of its sale to Specific.

Timberlake will also have a title at MySpace, but the exact is yet to be determined, a representative said. The strategy and vision for MySpace will be unveiled at a press conference later this summer, according to Specific.

Said Specific CEO Tim Vanderhook: “We look forward to partnering with someone as talented as Justin Timberlake who will lead the business strategy with his creative ideas and vision for transforming MySpace.” He added that he is looking forward to what he called “the next chapter of digital media.”

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

So Justin Timberlake is going to lead business strategy at MySpace and is going to help them compete with Facebook where thousands of brilliant minds at Google and Microsoft have not yet been successful. Good luck with that. The only way that MySpace is going to hang in there is if they completely revamp their website so it’s more intuitive with added features. It’s not easy to use, it doesn’t pull you in what your friends are doing, and it’snot even a fraction as interesting as Facebook. I don’t see how adding entertainment content is going to keep people there, unless there are free streaming movies and songs, and even that won’t be enough to keep up.

Google just joined the social networking game a bit late. They’re launching Google Plus with the same kind of invite-only rollout that they started Gmail with. They’ve had a couple of false starts in trying to build a social network, but it looks like they may have it right this time. Facebook is starting to lose users who aren’t comfortable with posting information to their entire friend list, which is made up of everyone they know on a kind of flat plane with no differentiation. Google Plus lets people set up “circles” of friends to share things with, a long overdue concept, in which you can easy communicate with groups of friends in specific categories you define. There are all sorts of features in Google Plus that seem like they’ve been watching Facebook and making improvements.

So MySpace probably won’t ever be able to compete with Facebook again, or with web behemoth Google, but they might be able to get us to listen to some free music and comment about it. For an investment of a few million, that’s probably enough for Timberlake. A million dollars isn’t cool, Justin.

Justin is shown at the Bad Teacher premiere on 6/20/11. Credit: WENN.com

The Kardashian Mastercard has been cancelled. You can no longer have the pleasure of charging five dollars worth of soda and candy on your Kardashian Kard. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t really give a crap, but the statement that the Kardashians issued to Gossip Cop is worth its weight in gold. It’s the funniest thing I’ve read all morning:

The Kardashian Kard is kaput.

Kim, Khloe and Kourtney’s much-hyped prepaid debit card has been dumped over allegations that it contains several hidden fees that may be illegal.

This afternoon, legal counsel for the Kardashians’ corporation, Dash Dolls, LLC, sent a “notice of termination” to the companies behind the Kard, ending the endorsement deal after the fees controversy surfaced.

Connecticut’s attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, announced last Friday — the so-called “Black Friday” after Thanksgiving that sees enormous shopping activity — that his office was investigating whether the Kardashian Kard violated consumer protection laws with “predatory” monthly and service fees.

The notice of termination letter says that the Kardashians “have worked extremely long and hard to create a positive public persona,” and are recognized as “honest, ethical, and fun-loving individuals who are kind and caring to others.”

Because the card “might violate” certain laws, rules and regulations, notes the letter, Dash Dolls “terminates the agreement in its entirety, effective immediately.”

Gossip Cop called William “Claude” Butler from the Revenue Resource Group, the firm behind the Kardashian Kard, but has not received a response.

[From Gossip Cop]

Yes, whenever I think of “Kardashian” the first words that pop into my head are “ethical” and “positive public persona”. I definitely don’t think “famewhore” or “Kat-Face” or “famous for a sex tape”. Granted, the Kardashians on the whole are relatively harmless (in my mind), and I don’t begrudge them their “takesies-backsies” on the whole credit card thing. But here’s a funny story – I bet they kept the thousands of dollars they got as an appearance fee to launch the credit card. Ah, ethics.

Header photo courtesy of Fame.

These are new photos of Kim Kardashian last night at an event in NYC. Looking extraordinarily cat-faced. Yikes. Anyway, although Kim flew solo to the event (or Khloe was her date, maybe), Kim does have a new “boyfriend.” According to In Touch Weekly, Kim’s new boyfriend is Michael Copon, and he’s a 28-year-old actor who guest starred in One Tree Hill, Beyond the Break and Greek, amongst other television credits. He’s actually a working actor, which surprises me. I would have thought Kim would go for one of those douches who calls himself an “actor” but who doesn’t have any credits. Michael, in the photos below, is giving me a jailbait vibe, even though he’s in his late 20s. He’s cute, but he also has an air of Taylor Lautner, right?

It’s all about new beginnings for Kim Kardashian — she has a new TV show, a new zip code, and now, a new man, too! A galpal of Kim’s tells In Touch that she’s dating actor and musician Michael Copon, who’s best known for his role on One Tree Hill.

“Kim is dating Michael,” the source tells In Touch. “They have known each other for years, but he and Kim just recently reconnected.”

Kim and Michael are currently in New York, where she’s filming Kourtney and Kim Take New York, and fans can expect to see more of her new hottie.

“He’ll definitely be making appearances on Kim’s new TV show,” the source adds. Kim and Michael met in 2006 when they filmed Beyond the Break together, in which they played boyfriend and girlfriend.

“They have been running in the same circles and going to the same events forever, but now they are hitting it off romantically,” the source says. “The timing is right for both of them.”

[From In Touch Weekly]

Wow, that sounds like a business arrangement casting decision true love. Seriously, Producers of whatever new Kardashian show (Ryan Seacrest and Kris Jenner) decided they wanted to cast an actor as Kim’s new “boyfriend” so they just started looking for 20-something actors. Meanwhile, I bet Kim is boning every athlete she can find on the side. And Michael’s boyfriend probably doesn’t mind that Michael is “dating” Kim.

Look at those diamond earrings!

Kim last night in NYC, photos of Michael from 2009 & 2010. Credit: WENN.

For all the vehement denials issued by Susan Sarandon’s reps – and even her mom – it looks like the rumor about her young entrepreneur boyfriend may be true. The Oscar-winning actress has been pulled into a court dispute between Jonathan Bricklin, with whom Sarandon has been spending a great deal of time since her split with Tim Robbins, and his business partners at an upscale ping pong club in NYC. Bricklin’s partners have named Susan Sarandon as a witness – and possibly a little bit more.

Susan Sarandon — who recently separated from Tim Robbins — is caught in the middle of a legal battle involving her new boyfriend, Jonathan Bricklin, and his two biggest investors in SPiN, the pingpong club in the Flatiron District.

The majority investors in SPiN, Bill Mack and Iwona Herdzik, claim in a suit filed last week in Manhattan Supreme Court that the club’s founders — Bricklin, Andrew Gordon and Franck Raharinosy — have frozen them out of the business.

Mack and Herdzik, who together poured more than $1.5 million into SPiN, allege that Bricklin, Gordon and Raharinosy issued additional shares of the company to third parties without their approval, mismanaged SPiN’s finances and threatened to shut the club and file bankruptcy.

Not in the suit are statements sources made to Page Six that Bricklin and minority partner Sarandon, who invested $50,000 in the club, are in cahoots to run the business without consulting Mack and Herdzik. The sources say Sarandon and Bricklin met at a Naked Pingpong party in February, 2008, and later became romantically involved as they worked on a video for Robbins’ 50th birthday. Sarandon’s rep did not respond to a request for comment.

Herdzik and Mack claim they tried to resolve things through arbitration, but Bricklin and his fellow co-founders allegedly refused and threatened to close the club and give the keys to SPiN’s landlord — which would have lost the investors all their money.

A rep for SPiN responded: “Bill and Iwona attempted to take control of SPiN New York, but the judge flatly denied that request. There is zero truth to the allegations that the club is seeking bankruptcy protection.

“They tried to work out their differences with Bill and Iwona over a heated table tennis match at SPiN, but they ended up in court, which is a lot less fun.”

[From Page Six]

Hmm. Naked Ping Pong. Now that’s an icebreaker! This guy might be fun for now, and Susan is probably getting her groove back and all, but there seems to be some baggage accompanying this relationship in the form of a bad business deal that is about to get a lot uglier. It would be nice if Susan could step away from all this cougar/table tennis/boy toy drama and get in front of a movie camera again. She’s way too classy a lady to get dragged down by this stuff.

Justin Timberlake really is proving himself to be quite the Renaissance Man – at least when it comes to entertainment and business. He successfully transitioned from a boy band to a musically respected pop star. He opened up two restaurants in Manhattan, Southern Hospitality and Destino, that have both managed to do well. His clothing line, William Rast, is hugely successful. So what’s left for him to do? Tequila. Not a shot of it – Timberlake is coming up with his own brand.

Justin Timberlake has something new to toast: The singer and budding businessman is launching a new brand of tequila named 901.

In development for more than two years, the liquor will hit store shelves in early May in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and St. Louis.

The reason behind the numeric name? “901 is that time of night when your evening is ending, but your night is just beginning. It is also a subtle nod to his hometown,” says the singer’s spokesperson, referring to the area code for Memphis, where Timberlake grew up.

The new venture is the latest addition to Timberlake’s growing business portfolio, which includes the fashion line William Rast and the music label Tennman.

[From People]

According to the New York Post, Timberlake isn’t merely slapping his stamp of approval on the tequila. He actually did (presumably fun) research for its development.

JUSTIN Timberlake is expanding his brand. The pop star, “SNL” regular guest and clothing designer has added tequila to his growing list of interests. Timberlake recently toured a Mexican distillery where he was caught on video tasting tequilas. A spokeswoman for the star confirms, “This was one of his many meetings over the last two years in development of his tequila business.”

[From the New York Post]

All of Justin’s other ventures have proven successful, so I’m sure 901 will too. He’s just got that golden touch. He’s certainly not the first big name celebrity to push hard alcohol. Diddy has a $100 million deal to promote Ciroc vodka – which he didn’t even create. He’s just giving it his stamp of approval and posing for ads. If Justin’s tequila does well, I can’t even imagine how much he could make from it.

I hate it when celebs let someone else do all the work and then slap their names on it. But in Justin’s case it seems like he’s always the head honcho on his business projects, and no matter what he’s doing, he does well at it. And now he can do all those things while drinking tequila. Even better.

Here’s Justin Timberlake with Jessica Biel as they stroll around their Tribecca neighborhood on March 8th. Images thanks to Pacific Coast News.

Watch out, Victoria Beckham is going to inflict yet another overpriced clothing line on the public. Or what she would like to call ‘up scale’ dresses:

The singer turned designer revaled to industry bible WWD, during a recent interview about her new scent, Signature for Her, that she is currently working a new collection of sophisticated, high end dresses, that she intends to unveil in September during the international collections.

‘It will be something completely different from what I’ve ever done. I’m just putting it together at the moment, they will be very up scale dresses and likely to start at around $1,200 retail. I’m going to be using very expensive fabrics and finishes, lots of embroideries.’

Elle

Victoria already has a line of jeans that retails for upwards of $250 a pair, which she has been criticized for not promoting. They aren’t selling particularly well, probably because as Celebitchy pointed out, if you’re going to buy a pair of expensive jeans you would get a more recognizable brand.

I think the same would go for Victoria’s new fashion line. If I was going to lay down $1,200 on a dress I’d probably buy something from a real designer. Posh has said in the past that there is a ‘stigma’ attached to being her, telling GMTV Britain that while she was a pop star and a footballer’s wife, she loves high fashion. I think this stigma is going to be attached to her clothes also.

While loving fashion may be a prerequisite to being a designer, I would have to say that it doesn’t actually make you qualified to design clothing.

Posh is shown at the CFDA Fashion Awards on 6/2/08. That’s not one of her designs. Thanks to WENN for these photos.

Ellen Degeneres is launching a range of organic dog food, and you can eat it too!

She tells Parade magazine, “Ours (range) is all human grade. It’s all natural. And yes, you can eat it.”

“People love their animals so much so that they put little clothes on them and necklaces and booties and things like that. And if you love your animal, then you should feed them something that’s not dangerous for them. There’s a lot of poisonous stuff that they’re putting in a lot of that food, those by-products.”

KeyeTV

I don’t think that Ellen is actually suggesting that you should eat the food, just that you can if you want to. Or if you are ever caught in an emergency, like flooding or an earthquake, it’s good to know that it is safe to eat.

This follows Ellen’s previous issues with her adopted dog Iggy, where Ellen and partner Portia DeRossi adopted the dog and then gave it away, violating their agreement with the agency they took the dog from. Ellen cried about the new family losing custody of the pooch Iggy on her show, and got a huge amount of coverage for situation. Buying and promoting a dog food brand after that publicity is a great business move.

I might also suggest that it is a very subtle ‘up yours’ to the Mutts and Moms dog adoption agency, since she’s now used her infamous love of dogs to make money, while they have only received bad publicity.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Ellen Degeneres and Portia DeRossi are shown at the Primetime Emmy Awards on 9/16/07, thanks to PRPhotos.

Despite the fact that Kirstie Alley hasn’t yet lost the 75 pounds that she gained back in the past year, prompting Jenny Craig not to renew her contract as spokesperson, she has announced that she’s going to start her own “Weight Loss Brand” in 2009. Maybe she’s doing this to help motivate her to put her money where her mouth isn’t, and hopes that she’ll lose the weight and eventually be able to cash in on it. She’s got to make back some of that $5 million she gave to Scientology somehow:

The weight-loss field is wide open and not immune to new ideas and improved solutions for the fat problems that plague many of us Americans every day. I want to create something new that will help millions of people end the seemingly never ending fatty-roller coaster ride. I am especially passionate about seeing to it that our next generations are not struggling with the same weight issues that my generation has struggled with.

There was a time when America was not fat, and that was in our not-so-distant past. I’m confident that I can create something exciting and innovative: something that if all goes well, will help change a fat America back into a fit America and will offer this country the healthiest, yummiest, easiest and most effective weight-loss program on the market.

If not, I’ll see you at Central Casting.

Oh, but hey, don’t “Call Kirstie” just yet. You’ll be on hold too long. Call me next year.

[Kristie Alley's statement on People.com]

A lot of you wondered that since the Scientologists are so good at solving everyone’s problems why they didn’t have their own weight loss solution. This obvious question seems to have occurred to them too, and now overweight victims can have their wallets emptied along with their minds. Maybe they’ll lose some weight too.

The Scientologists have front cult recruitment programs for detoxing 9/11 volunteers, for “rehabilitating” criminals, for getting addicts off drugs, and for running successful businesses. It’s only natural that they would have a weight loss front program too. It’s going to take a little while to develop, though, and for Alley to lose all that weight she put back on while she was battling her inner thetans. Several days in the sauna accompanied by blank-eyed minders feeding her nothing but vitamins ought to help get her back on track.

If this cult has anything to do with her new weight loss program, you’re better off spending $5 g to go to expensive all-inclusive weight loss spa for a week. It will be cheaper and ultimately much more rewarding, and you know ahead of time exactly how much it will cost.

Can it be possible that the British tabloids have got it wrong? Only yesterday we reported that Kylie Minogue was spotted with handsome ex-boyfriend Olivier Martinez, and speculation was rife that she had a new life plan, complete with marriage and babies. Now it seems that their un-named source was wrong! As we reported, Kylie and Ollie were meant to be together again, after a year apart, and planning “to start a family, to marry her and to settle down.”

But, Kylie today released her new range of linen for your home, and denied the reports at her launch. It seems a bit coincidental that the range came out the same week as the rumours – was it a clever ploy to get more publicity?

Minogue told the Press Association: “I had dinner with my ex-boyfriend and next thing I know there’s a debate about whether we’re having a family. “We didn’t even talk about that. As I’ve maintained, we’re friends.”

Press Association

I’m actually not surprised about this, and according to relationship advice gurus, it’s a bad idea.

Paula Hall, relationship psychotherapist for Relate, said, “I don’t think there’s anything wrong in going back to your ex as long as you have resolved the problems which caused the break-up in the first place.

“Some couples get to the point of a break-up before they realise what they really want and it gives them the motivation to resolve their problems.”

But she said people should not return to a former partner just to have a family. “To get back together purely to have a baby is not necessarily a good idea – it depends on your expectations for both the relationship and parenting.”

icWales

That’s probably not bad advice, considering the stress a baby places on everyone around it!

Can you believe that Kylie is releasing a range of goods for your home? You can now not only listen to Kylie, but smell like her, wear her undies and swimsuits, and sleep with her sheets. How does she have time to actually maintain a music career? It’s probably a good thing that Kylie isn’t having a baby, as she’d have no time to raise the little one. Although, a rage of tiny Kylie Baby clothes would be really cute…

The new range of linens include bedding, towels, cushions and curtains in luxury fabrics and covered in sequins, diamantes and semi-precious stones. It is called At Home With Kylie.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Kylie Minogue is shown at the launch of At Home With Kylie in London yesterday, thanks to PRPhotos.

I didn’t realize Punky Brewster was still around – I think I got her confused with the little girl from the Poltergeist movies – but it turns out she is, and is pregnant with her second child. Oh, and she’s totally hot. I hate her. In that good, jealous way. Soleil Moon Frye has opened a green children’s boutique called The Little Seed in L.A. I have a freakish admiration for the eco-friendly folks. I’m trying to learn to be better – I’ve switched from Kleenex to hankies, which I think saves about a tree a day, at the rate I get sinus infections. So I’m pretty sure I’m right up there with Soleil Moon Frye.

“‘It’s an opportunity to make the planet a little greener,’ Frye, 31, tells PEOPLE. ‘I haven’t slept at all these last few months. It’s probably a combination of pregnancy and opening this store. It’s so exciting.’

“The boutique, located in the hip enclave of Larchmont Village, carries green products, including sustainable furniture from Kalon Studios, organic toys from Zid Zid and non-toxic crayons and paints from Stockmeyer.

“‘I had such a hard time finding great organic and non-toxic items for my daughter,’ says Frye. ‘I wanted to create a place where parents can come and find products that are safe for their children, as well as good for the planet.’”

[From People]

Oh you do-gooders. You make me look so bad in comparison. You make my hankies seem so insignificant. No, I won’t go there. You can never take my hankies from me. Frye’s first daughter, who’s name is Poet (I’ll give you a minute to digest that) is crazy about the store and all the cool toys. Plus, she’s probably not going to get some crazy lead-based poison like all the other little kids whose parents bought years of tainted toys. So that’s always nice. I think gnawing on a melamine Big Bird did some serious damage to me back in the day.

“Her daughter’s favorite item? ‘Poet loves to paint and draw,’ says Frye about her two-year-old daughter with husband Jason Goldberg, 36. ‘As soon as she comes to the store, she grabs the crayons and starts a new art project.’ The actress, who founded the store with Paige Tolmach and Beth Birkett, reveals her second pregnancy hasn’t been easy. ‘The first trimester was rough,’ she says. ‘I don’t know why you call it morning sickness, because I was sick all day and night!’ Still, she adds: ‘I’m finally feeling good.’

“Frye says her daughter Poet is already bonding with the baby, due in the spring. ‘She talks to the belly all the time and tells the baby she loves it.’ Frye and Goldberg have decided not to find out the gender of their child, but they’ve already started talking about names. ‘Poet is such a unique name,’ she says about her daughter, whose full name is Poet Sienna Rose Goldberg. ‘And we have a family of crazy, wonderful names so we have a lot to live up to.’”

[From People]

I say you name the next kid Bob or Jane, depending on the sex. For that family, that probably would be a unique, weird name. And if nothing else, it’ll let the kid know from the get-go that you weren’t all that interested in them, so you don’t have to spend years neglecting them to figure it out. In fact, that’s the route Britney Spears should have gone. Would have saved her a lot of time of having to neglect the kids.