Numerous media reports over the weekend said Jeff Archuleta has been told by the show’s producers that he can no longer help David prepare and has been banned from backstage. Fox, the network that airs “Idol,” has declined to comment on those reports.

Media stories speculated that Jeff Archuleta was admonished for insisting his son change the lyrics to “Stand by Me,” which David sang on the May 6 episode. The problem is, when he changed the song to add a verse from Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls,” it cost the show’s producers more money because they must pay for music rights when contestants sing songs. In effect, the producers had to pay for two songs, “Stand by Me” and “Beautiful Girls,” when David sang only one.

Various reports say that Jeff Archuleta had been told David could not use the verse from “Beautiful Girls,” but he told his son to go ahead, anyway. None of those reports could be confirmed. 

Still, Jeff has been in hot water before for apparently choosing David’s songs, and there was some speculation that Jeff drove his son so hard, he made David cry. Last month in Us Weekly magazine, Jeff Archuleta said accusations he was an overbearing “stage dad” were simply wrong. “There was absolutely no truth in any of the stories about me yelling at David, making him cry, or withholding water from him. That was crazy!,” Jeff Archuleta told the magazine.

“She’d be welcomed in the magazine. Very pretty lady,” Hefner told the “Extra” celebrity news show. 

While Cyrus said she was embarrassed by sexually provocative photos of her that were recently posted online and another photo of her wrapped only in a bed sheet that was published in “Vanity Fair,” Hefner describes them as innocent.

“I think to make such a big to do over something as innocent as those photos, I think is a reflection on how schizophrenic America is about sexuality,” he said. 

What do you think about Hefner’s offer?

Showbiz hacks the world over will be sharpening their pencils (and fingernails), pouring over screening schedules, brushing up on blogging banter and taking plenty of deep breaths before heading for the Riviera resort of Cannes to cover the film festival which kicks off on Wednesday. Someone’s got to do it, I guess.

The first scheduling crunch comes on the first morning, no doubt a sign of things to come. “Kung Fu Panda”, a martial arts animation movie from DreamWorks, plans a stunt outside the swanky Carlton hotel on Wednesday morning at exactly the same time that the festival screens the opening competition film “Blindness”, by Fernando Meirelles of “City of God” fame. One promises to be fun yet silly, the other harrowing yet rewarding, summing up life in Cannes during the 12-day festival perfectly.

Some in the media were less than impressed. Britain’s Sun tabloid, the country’s top-selling daily, called the stunt “a bit old hat”. Rival newspaper the Daily Mirror ran the story under the headline “Desperately seeking attention” and opened its piece with the words: “Move on Madge!” Having said that, it should be pointed out that the publication nonetheless saw it fit to feature a large picture of the embrace on page 3.

Does the “Queen of Reinvention” need to reinvent again, or has she done it so many times that there’s nowhere new to go?

Now ask him if he cares.

The dreadlocked, easygoing Texan was sent packing from “American Idol” on Wednesday night in what was arguably the most jubilant exit of any contestant ever.

Admitting that his inexperience had gotten the better of him during the previous night’s grueling performances of “I Shot the Sheriff” and “Mr. Tambourine Man,” Castro appeared visibly relieved to have the pressure of the competition behind him. Having to perform two songs in one week, he said, was tough to handle.

The 20-year-old college student, who all season long seemed to take the pressure of the show less seriously than his rivals, even said he had appreciated one of the barbs sent his way after he had forgotten some of the words to “Mr. Tambourine Man.”

“Somebody told me that I shot the Tambourine Man yesterday,” he said, laughing. “I thought that was pretty funny.”

Later, host Ryan Seacrest pointed out that Castro appeared to be relieved.

“There’s three songs next week,” Castro responded. “I don’t know what I would have done.”

Castro then launched into his final performance on the show, laughing and joking his way through “I Shot the Sheriff” one more time.

All in all, Castro’s gleeful exit was a welcome change from the tears and melodrama that often accompany the ousting of an “Idol” contestant.

Still, without Castro around to remind us that dude, this is just a TV show, the competition is bound to start feeling more serious. After all, we are down to just three singers now, all of whom are formidable contestants with their eyes laser focused on taking the “Idol” throne.

Miss those dreadlocks yet?

While no names were mentioned, the British press wasted little time in naming the jilted lover in this case as actor Hugh Grant, who the Daily Mail reported bought then-girlfriend Khan a 3,000-pound watch to match his own in 2004. The couple split in 2007.

“I’ve even found myself waiting for ‘a sign’,” Khan said in the article. “The watch given to me by a boyfriend when we first met packed up at the point at which the relationship had clearly run its course. I took it as the clear signal I needed that our time was finally up, though of course I’d known that for months.”

Would Khan and Grant still be an item had the time piece in question kept ticking?

Week after week, the 21-year-old beauty from Sarasota, Florida, has stepped up her game, delivering performances in recent episodes that many thought she wasn’t capable of. Now, despite having been among the lowest three vote-getters a whopping five times, Mercado is the only woman to have made it to the show’s Top 4.

For making it this, Mercado certainly deserves a lot of credit. On Tuesday night’s episode, judge Randy Jackson singled out the TV commercial actress after her performance of “Proud Mary” for “showing the heat late in the competition when you need it.”

Paula Abdul, meanwhile, told Mercado: “You started this competiton as a pretty girl with a big voice, and you turned into this beautiful woman with a magnetic voice and presence.”

Still, it was more than a little strange when, just before singing her second song of the evening, Mercado appeared to liken her run on “Idol” to the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.

In a pre-taped interview shown before her performance of “A Change is Gonna Come,” Mercado explained why she chose the song by legendary R&B singer Sam Cooke.

“It was released after his death in 1965 during the Civil Rights Movement, which was a very pivotal time in history. And now I’m singing it during a pivotal time in my life — Top 4, amazing experience… I’m just so thankful to still be here and this song just took on a totally different meaning for me.”

Later, Mercado broke down in tears after judge Randy Jackson said he hadn’t liked her performance, while Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell both praised her singing.

Choking back tears, she explained again that the song meant a lot to her, again referencing its links with the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.

“I just couldn’t stop crying, because I feel like I’ve changed a lot,” Mercado said.

Then, as she wiped the streams of tears off her face, Mercado suddenly snapped back to the harsh reality of live TV: “I probably look like crap right now,” she said.

The Libby Ross Foundation said Miley and Trish Cyrus were among a list of celebrity mothers and daughters helping raise funds for the charity by decorating yoga bags with Swarovski jewels that will be listed on eBay for sale from May 5-15. Other celebrities duos include Susan Sarandon and daughter Eva Amurri and Hayden Panettiere and her mother Lesley Panattiere.

Photo of the bag designed by Miley Cyrus courtesy of The Libby Ross Foundation.

“Grab a drink, holla at some nice girls, and party bitch!!! You don’t know shit about passion and art. You’ll never gain credibility at this rate,” wrote West.

“I’m not a pop star. I don’t care about anything but making great art. Never come 2 one of my shows ever again, you’re not invited and if you see me… BOW!!! This is not pop, it’s pop art! Chris Willman, kill yourself!”

The last bit of advice for Willman was later removed from the blog.

The war question: Is ”Iron Man” anti-war? Does Tony Stark (aka comic book superhero Iron Man, played by Robert Downey, Jr.) create his suit of hi-tech armor to stop a military arms maker run amok and tame an evil-doer?

Or, is it pro-war? Does Stark create a new weapon that will undoubtedly be used by the military arms maker he created to build even more lethal high-tech weaponry?

“I’ve heard it’s pro-war and that it’s anti-war, which means that I did my job,” director Jon Favreau told Reuters in a pre-release interview.

Favreau said his goal was to make the movie neither, but to reflect the times. He said he has changed his own mind several times on the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Here’s all of what Favreau said in reponse to a question about the movie’s story set in the context of current times, the wars and the U.S. election.

“It was an opportunity to reflect the times a little bit. I think it’s a good moment now. It’s an election year. We didn’t try to take a position strongly on it, but to present the world as we see it in, sort of, a comic book version. And, set this hero against the times, instead of making it in some non-descript moment in history with a non-descript political landscape. We didn’t but we did want to present it that way.

“I think what superhero movies have always offered are very simple solutions to complex problems. If there’s a sense of powerlessness that people feel or a culture feels or certainly kids, there’s always been Superman to stop the train or stop a bullet. That’s always been the metaphor of the superhero. In a more complicated landscape politically, here’s “Iron Man” who can step in and solve problems with the blink of an eye through ingenuity and through resolve of character,” Favreau said.