Mel Gibson just released his latest movie. Well, actually, it’s a music video he directed for his pregnant 39-year-old girlfriend, Russian singer/pianist Oksana Grigorieva. 

“Say My Name” is the first video from her upcoming debut album, “Beautiful Heartache,” which will be released through Gibson’s Icon Records label. The clip can be downloaded from her Web site, along with a new track “Flying Upside Down.”

Gibson shot the video in Mexico, opting for black-and-white “to reflect the mourning of something irreplaceable that was lost,” according to Grigorieva. “Its spare nature emphasizes the voice, the piano and its heart.”

“Flying Upside Down,” on the other hand, is an upbeat pop tune, although the lyrical content is also heavy. The song “is about difficult choices we have to make, the path we take and the brave faces we adopt in order to go on,” she said. 

Grigorieva and Gibson started working together in 2008, after Gibson had split from his wife, Robyn. (They are currently in divorce proceedings.) ”She can play,” Gibson, 53, admiringly told Jay Leno last month. “She was trained in Russia. Rachmaninoff, there’s very few people who are man enough for Rachmaninoff.”

So Susan Boyle DIDN’T win “Britain’s Got Talent”. After the show turned her into a household name in more countries than I could list, the 48-year-old came second in Saturday’s final, surprisingly losing out to street dancers Diversity. Now don’t get me wrong. Diversity were impressive, and the choreography was as good as the execution on the night. It’s just that the momentum behind Boyle, one of the biggest Internet stars in history, was so great that it had been widely assumed she would walk off with the cheque for 100,000 pounds and the headlines on Sunday.

It was not to be, but this is unlikely to be the end of the road for Boyle. A lucrative recording contract is surely only days away as labels, notably Simon Cowell’s very own Syco, seek to trade in on her global fame, fine voice and anti-celebrity appeal. Some might feel that losing out to Diversity could be a blessing in disguise for a woman who has struggled to cope with the demands her instant celebrity has brought. She threatened to walk out of the show, had an altercation with journalists and reports said she had to be taken to a “safe house” in the days leading to the final to escape the limelight. Perhaps coming second will give her a little space and time to recover from what judge Cowell rightly called “a weird seven weeks”.

Kylie Minogue’s music may not be to everyone’s taste, but she put on an impressive show late last night at a charity bash in Cannes. Sponsored by Chopard, the party suffered the same fate as other soirees at the film festival this year – the A-list was unusually short. That said, it was fun for the hundreds of mere mortals who did turn up.

In the blissfully uncrowded VIP area the Dom Perignon flowed freely all night, or at least until about 2 a.m. but by then it didn’t matter too much. Colleagues of mine who will remain nameless were quaffing from large tumblers — a crime against champagne if you ask me, but then, they didn’t seem to care what I thought.

And 40-year-old Kylie got the dancing going with a slick set for the Miracle Africa International Foundation Charity.

On her way in, the former TV star told Reuters she was keen to get back to work behind the camera.

“I definitely wouldn’t mind going back to my roots for a little bit and doing some acting. If I find the right project I will go into that with everything I’ve got.”

Barring a little unnecessary pushing and shoving by some over-zealous bouncers, it was feel-good all the way, and a perfect way to start winding things up at this year’s Cannes. Back to the hotel at 4 a.m. and up this morning for a couple of double espressos and some more movies. The curtain falls on Sunday night … we’re nearly there.

 All aboard the “Love Train” in Beverly Hills. Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, the soul music Svengalis who wrote and produced the O’Jays’ peace anthem and about 3,000 other timeless tunes, received a lifetime achievement award at a star-studded black-tie dinner on Tuesday.

  The pair picked up the Icon Award from BMI, a performing rights group that collects royalties on behalf of songwriters and publishers. Other awards went to pop singer Colbie Caillat and country star Taylor Swift, the co-writers of some of BMI’s biggest songs of the past year.

 But Gamble, 65 (right), and Huff, 67, were the main attractions at the Regent Beverly Wilshire event. In a mini tribute concert, Gavin DeGraw performed “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” Estelle took on “Don’t Leave Me This Way” and Michael Buble did “Me and Mrs. Jones” — all R&B classics churned out by the duo’s Philadelphia International Records label during the 1970s.

  Huff fondly recalled his early days as a studio musician in New York, playing piano on tunes for pioneering producers such as Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who were in the audience, and Phil Spector, who was otherwise detained. He and Gamble met at the Brill Building, the legendary songwriters factory in Manhattan, and a lucrative 40-year-plus partnership was born.

 The pair went on to launch Philadelphia International Records in 1971, and dominated the pop and R&B charts during the decade with songs performed by the likes of the O’Jays, the Stylistics (”I’m Stone in Love With You”), Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes (”If You Don’t Know Me by Now,” “Don’t Leave Me this Way”), Billy Paul (”Me and Mrs. Jones”), the Intruders (”I’ll Always Love My Mama”), and the Three Degrees (”When Will I See You Again”).

“I feel grateful for writing songs that made people feel good because music is a healing force forever,” Huff said.

Gamble paid tribute to another VIP in the audience, Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. “It was … Motown that inspired guys like me and Huff,” Gamble said, citing the Detroit label’s songwriters such as Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Smokey Robinson.

Swift, meanwhile, received the Presidents Award, which honors “an exceptional individual in the entertainment industry deserving of special recognition.” “I write songs on my bedroom floor about boys,” said the 19-year-old singer, the biggest-selling artist in the United States last year.

Caillat performed her big hit “Bubbly.” which was named song of the year. She was also one of eight songwriters of the year, sharing the honor with such stars as R&B singer Chris Brown, Maroon5 frontman Adam Levine, hip-hop performer T-Pain, and Matchbox Twenty guitarist Paul Doucette,

  Plane crashes are usually bad for rock ‘n’ roll careers, as Buddy Holly or Ronnie Van Zant would testify if they could. But a fatal crash last September proved to a blessing for the estranged members of California pop-punk trio Blink-182 who broke up four years ago after a smash chart-topping run.

Drummer Travis Barker was critically injured when his charter plane crashed on takeoff in South Carolina, as was celebrity disc jockey Adam (”DJ AM”) Goldstein. The two pilots and two other passengers perished in the fiery crash, whose cause is still under investigation.
    
The tragedy was “absolutely” the catalyst for the band members to patch up their differences, said singer/guitarist Tom DeLonge, whose 2005 departure triggered the announcement of an “indefinite hiatus.”
    
“I never saw us all coming back together because I started a new life and those guys did as well,” he told Reuters at a tour party in Hollywood on Monday night as a Mariachi band played Blink-182 tunes like “Josie” and “Dammit.” 
    
“But when that happened, I personally wanted to be there when Travis played drums again. I wanted to do it with him. And here we are now.”
    
DeLonge, Barker and singer/bassist Mark Hoppus will kick off their amphitheater tour on July 24 in Las Vegas. It is scheduled to run through Oct. 3 in Atlantic City. Weezer and Fall Out Boy are also on the lineup. 
    
DeLonge said Blink-182 has started recording tracks for the band’s first album since a self-titled release in 2003, but the sessions are now taking a back seat to tour preparations. He hoped some new material would come out once the band hits the road.
    
The threesome ceased all communication during their hiatus, not even sending Christmas cards or emails. “We lost control of the machine (to external business pressures), so we kinda lost control of the communication between the three of us,” DeLonge said.
    
“When we got together and wanted to complain about whose fault it was was, it was really obvious it was nobody’s fault. Everybody was saying the truth from their perspective. I guess that’s the agony of the whole thing, but also the irony.”
    
The main difference now is that the members are clearly in charge. “No one can make any decisions unless the three of us get in a room and say, Cool,” he said. 
    
The threesome may all be family men in their 30s, but they say their teen-oriented musical tales of hijinks still seem relevant.
    
“I thought it would be funny playing these songs about being a teenager but it really fit fine. As I sing the songs I remember how I felt when I wrote them, and I’m hoping that people remember how they felt when they heard ‘em the first time, hearing them again. So I think it’s going to be good,” DeLonge said.

A British TV talent show has uncovered an unlikely star in the form of Susan Boyle, an unemployed 47-year-old from West Lothian in Scotland. In the mould of tenor Paul Potts, the winner of the show two years ago who went on to top the charts, Boyle is now the bookies’ favourite to win the 2009 edition of “Britain’s Got Talent” after she wowed judges and audience members alike on Saturday with an assured performance of “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical “Les Miserables”.

A video clip of the performance on Youtube has already been watched nearly six million times, and, according to broadcaster ITV, Boyle was applauded on Easter Sunday by friends in the congregation of the church she attends. “It was incredible. Although we sing in church not a lot of them know how good I was, so it was a bit of a shock for them”, she said.

The straight-talking contender, who told viewers she had “never been kissed”, clearly impressed the judges, including Simon Cowell, and is expected to win the top prize — a chance to perform before Prince Charles at the prestigious Royal Variety show, win a cheque for 100,000 pounds, and, perhaps most importantly, get a crack a stardom.

“The whole village is cheering me on,” Boyle said. “West Lothian would wish me well, I hope, that is the kind of community it is. And I will be doing my best. Before I left, they told me, ‘If you can behave yourself and stop your carry on, you will do well. You can sing okay’ Who am I to let them down?”

Robbie Williams has hinted that he may finally get together with his old bandmates from Take That. The 35-year-old walked out on the group in 1995 amid reports of an acrimonious rift, and has had nothing to do with the band’s successful comeback since 2005.

“I’m in regular contact with them and it’s looking more likely by the week,” he was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror tabloid. “The lads all seem up for it. I think it would be fun.”

Spandau Ballet, who famously took each other to court 10 years ago over a row about royalties, announced this week that they were reforming for a tour, so why not Take That?

Perhaps there is something in the air. Perhaps Robbie may be missing the fame and fortune that his former bandmates have been enjoying in recent years.

Spandau Ballet have added their name to the ever-lengthening list of disbanded bands announcing they are banding together once more. Like their music or loathe it, who can blame the quintet famous for 1980s quiffs from jumping on the reunion bandwagon? Some people believe reforming groups should be banned outright, but most, it seems, are welcoming them back with open arms and, more to the point, open wallets.

What I want to know is when our appetite for Bands Reunited will finally be satisfied? Take That have stormed the British charts since reforming, Michael Jackson has sold out no less than 50 concerts in London as he attempts his long-awaited comeback and The Police made a mint from their world tour of 2007 and 2008. Even Blur are getting back together later this year. After a string of success stories, is someone heading for a flop?

There are acts who refuse to go down the reunion route. Led Zeppelin played a one-off charity gig but former frontman Robert Plant has ruled out a more permanent return to the stage, and David Byrne formerly of Talking Heads has been quoted as rejecting a revival. “I don’t need the money badly enough,” he said.

U2 played a few tracks from their new album, and an old favourite from an earlier record, to a small crowd at the BBC in London this afternoon. It was part of a hectic promotion schedule for the Dubliners as they publicise their 12th studio album “No Line on the Horizon” which comes out next week.

Bono announced a tour starting this summer, without giving much else away, and assured punters that there would be cheap seats available in these dire economic times. There would, however, still be expensive ones.

“Rich people have feelings too and we want to cater to them also,” he joked.

U2 played “Get On Your Boots”, “Magnificent” and “Breathe” from the new record and “Beautiful Day” from “All That You Can’t Leave Behind”.

The “gig” was a first of sorts. While the band has played Get On Your Boots at awards ceremonies, this was the first time they had played a number of the new tunes to a non-professional audience. Well, having said that, I was there as a journalist and I wasn’t the only one, but there WERE some genuine fans there.

For those who missed it, there could be a bit more U2 action from the roof of Broadcasting House this evening. The speakers are certainly up and ready, but how much you will see from the street (which does have a name and its name is Portland Place) I cannot be sure.

In one of the biggest surprises on Oscar night, the animated Israeli documentary Waltz with Bashir did not walk away as many expected with the famed statuette in the Foreign Film category, which instead went to Japanese film Departures.

Even the star of Departures acknowledged he was expecting Waltz with Bashir to win the Academy Award.

The hype in Israel surrounding the movie- which won a Golden Globe earlier in the year - had provided a spark of optimism in the country where politics, regional relations and the economy have been weighing heavily on the public mood.

Some are already suggesting the failure of Waltz on Hollywood's biggest night was some form of censure for the recent Israeli offensive in Gaza.

An editorial cartoon in the Israeli press made the connection - showing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert presenting director Ari Folman with a consolation prize and saying "We made you a statuette out of Cast Lead". Operation Cast Lead was the Israeli code name for the Gaza offensive launched late last year with the stated aim of countering militant rocket fire from inside Gaza. It provoked much international criticism of Israel, notably over hundreds of civilians killed and wounded.

Echoing the glum mood elicited by Waltz's failure - another cartoon in Israel's leading Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper has a man reacting to the headline "Disappointment at the Oscars" saying "There's another failure of the Lebanon War" - a reference as much to the broadly unpopular and inconclusive 2006 battle with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon as to the 1980s invasion of Lebanon that is the subject of Ari Folman's astonishing animated flashback.

A more nuanced view, perhaps, comes from Israeli commentator Bradley Burston who says in this article that Waltz's failure was primarily down to Hollywood's unwillingness to move beyond its portrayal of Jews as either Holocaust victims and survivors, "cutesy, comic Yiddishers" or "noble, chiselled, ascetically moral kibbutzniks".

Folman's depiction of an angry, tortured, anti-war former soldier certainly does not fall in to any of those categories.

Burston recalls a 2005 episode of the edgy British comedy series Extras where Kate Winslet, playing herself playing a nun in a World War Two movie, prophetically explains backstage to an extra wearing a German military uniform that Holocaust movies are Oscar gold dust.

"I noticed that if you do a film about the Holocaust, you're guaranteed an Oscar. I've been nominated four times. Never won. The whole world is going, 'Why hasn't Winslet won one?'....That's why I'm doing it," she says.

Four years on and guess what - the Best Actress Oscar in the 2009 ceremony went to Kate Winslet for her role as a former Nazi prison guard in The Reader.

(Photo Credit: 'Waltz with Bashir' director Ari Folman at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony. REUTERS/Jason Reed)