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LIVEBLOG: 'Arrow' At Comic-Con

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The cast and creators of The CW's "Arrow" visited San Diego Comic-Con to discuss what's ahead in Season 2, especially in the aftermath of Tommy's death and the Merlyn-made quake that devastated Starling City.

Stars Stephen Amell, Colton Haynes, David Ramsey, Katie Cassidy and Emily Bett Rickards were in attendance with executive producers Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg and Greg Berlanti. Check out the liveblog below to find out what's ahead on the comic book hit.

You can also check out the Comic-Con sizzle reel below:

Here's more information on the two new DC characters we'll meet in Season 2:

Michael Jai White plays Ben Turner, a claw-wielding assassin better known as Bronze Tiger, who’s well known to DC Comics fans as a member of both the League of Assassins and the Suicide Squad. On "Arrow," he’ll form an unholy alliance with fan-favorite villain China White (played by Kelly Hu), another well-established character in the DC Comics universe.

Kevin Alejandro plays Sebastian Blood. Drawing inspiration from the iconic New Teen Titans nemesis Brother Blood, Sebastian is an alderman who rises to power in the wake of the earthquake that devastated Starling City in Arrow’s first-season finale. Blood’s “man-of-the-people” popularity instantly places him at odds with Oliver Queen, whose family he blames for the quake.


Will He Return For 'Star Wars'?

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SAN DIEGO — Samuel L. Jackson's just like everybody else: He has no idea what's going on with the new "Star Wars" films.

Jackson was at Comic-Con on Saturday to promote his new film "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and held court on a number of subjects in an interview, including J.J. Abrams' new installments in George Lucas' cinema-changing franchise.

Unlike the tens of thousands of fans at the annual gathering of fans, though, Jackson has had the opportunity to ask what's up. And he still doesn't know.

Jackson played Jedi Master Mace Windu in the "Star Wars" prequels. He'd like more work for Windu and his purple light saber. But when he saw Abrams recently at Lucas' wedding, he gleaned no information about what will come next as the franchise moves on to its seventh film in 2015.

"J.J. was there, I was there," Jackson said in an interview at the Hard Rock Hotel. "I was like (raises eyebrows) and he was like (noncommittal shrug), and he just went about his business. I don't know what that means. Harrison (Ford) was there too, and he was like (shrug). I just think it would be cool to have some of us that people relate to as being part of the `Star Wars' franchise to give entre to the new characters that they're going to bring to whatever the new thing is. It kind of makes it an easier entrance."

Jackson also wonders why his Nick Fury character isn't part of the new "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" television series. Fury oversees the global security spy agency in Marvel's cinematic universe, including "Marvel's The Avengers." But so far he hasn't been contacted about the show, which stars Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson and debuts on ABC in September.

"I don't know how they've got the TV show without me, but they do," Jackson said. "Maybe I could be like Charlie in `Charlie's Angels.' You just hear my voice. I send (the agents) out every week."

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Follow AP Music Writer Chris Talbott: . http://twitter.com/Chris_Talbott

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Marvel's Big Night

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The Marvel Comic-Con panel, the main event in Hall H at the San Diego Convention Center, took place on Saturday night.

The big news: an appearance by Joss Whedon who announced the title of the "Avengers" sequel: "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" will arrive in theaters in 2015. A brief teaser was shown with no new footage. Check out the film's logo below:

avengers age of ultron

Other Marvel movies to factor into the panel included "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," "Thor: The Dark World" and "Guardians of the Galaxy."

As the panel started, Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige brought "Avengers" and "Thor" star Tom Hiddleston out to the stage in his full Loki regalia. Hiddleston mocked the crowd and Feige much to the delight of attendees. After that, new footage from "Thor: The Dark World" played for fans. (Check out reactions in the live blog below.)

In addition to "Thor: The Dark World," the cast of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" made appearances, including Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan. According to Feige, the new "Captain America" film will be shared by Evans and Johansson (as Black Widow) "in a big way."

The footage from "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" was met with strong reviews from fans and journalists in Hall H; the clip offered a first look at Robert Redford, who stars as a S.H.I.E.L.D. head in the film.

Following the "Captain America" section, Feige brought out the cast of "Guardians of the Galaxy," including stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Benicio Del Toro. Pratt, who went through a high profile physical transformation for the film, said that Marvel told him he was "too fat" when they hired him for "Guardians." (Check out the live blog below for reactions to the "Guardians" footage.)

Marvel often has a big presence at Comic-Con. Last summer, the studio announced official plans for "Ant-Man" and "Guardians of the Galaxy."

Check out some Marvel concept art from the upcoming films below.

Additional reported by Mike Ryan.

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Chris Evans SLAMS Controversial Rolling Stone Cover

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SAN DIEGO — Chris Evans doesn't post on Twitter often, but when the actor saw the recent Rolling Stone cover featuring Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, he sent out a short missive: "Bad move Rolling Stone."

Evans appeared Saturday at Comic-Con to promote his new film "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." Asked about the tweet, he said he felt the magazine intentionally glamorized Tsarnaev. The 19-year-old is accused of setting off two bombs with his brother during the marathon in April. Three people died and more than 250 were injured in the attack.

"I just felt on that Rolling Stone cover he looked like Jim Morrison," Evans said. "He looked like a rock star. It glorified him.

"If you want to do a story, if you want to examine how a young kid can be turned, and if you want to examine innocence lost and all those things, it's fine. The problem is putting him on the cover in that picture in that light, it glorified him. There's no two ways about it. He looked great."

Rolling Stone should have used a different picture, Evans said. "Show his mug shot, show something else that kind of doesn't make it look so fantastic to do such a horrible thing."

Interestingly, the issues Rolling Stone raised about Tsarnaev's complicated background are similar to the issues Captain America deals with in the sequel.

The "Captain America" comic book character was created in 1941 during the run-up to the United States' involvement in World War II. It was a tale of Steve Rogers, a gangly Army reject who participates in the government's secret soldier program and transforms into the patriotic warrior.

The world he lived in was much simpler. Determining good and evil was an easy matter. In the first film about the Marvel character, 2011's "Captain America: The First Avenger," Cap awakes after being frozen in Arctic ice for 70 years. The world he finds is very different than the one he left.

The sequel, due out next April, presents the red, white and blue hero with far more challenges to navigate.

"Now that he has the tools to fight the good fight, whose side is he fighting for?" Evans asked. "I think in the `40s it was a lot easier to say, `We know Nazis are bad.' I think it's a bit harder to know who's right and who's wrong today. I think that conflict that Steve's going through in the movie couldn't be more updated and more modern. What's right? Where's the line? Where do you draw it? It's so tricky, I wish I could tell you more."

Samuel L. Jackson says his character, SHIELD director Nick Fury, tries to help Cap come to grips with the 21st century as they work to unravel the mystery around The Winter Soldier. In the comic, the character is Cap's former sidekick who becomes a sleeper agent for the enemy. In the past, how the hero dealt with an enemy would be cut and dried, but not today.

"Now he's got to understand that the enemy's not black and white anymore," Jackson said. "It's not that guy over there and us over here. It's kind of gray. Some of those guys that were enemies before are now our allies in a kind of way. So you've got to wrap your head around that."

Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios and the film's producer, says fans looking for clues to the new "The Avengers" sequel should not miss the "Captain America" sequel.

The film, "much more than `Iron Man 3' or `Thor: The Dark World', is connected and the linchpin between `Avengers' 1 and `Avengers' 2," he said. "The events of `Avengers' play directly into the events of `Winter Soldier,' primarily in the fact that Cap is now in the modern day working with SHIELD, working with Nick Fury, working with Black Widow in a very good way. And the events of that movie will have a direct repercussion on the events of `Avengers' 2."

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Follow AP Music Writer Chris Talbott: http://twitter.com/Chris_Talbott

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'Avengers 2' Won't Be Called 'Avengers 2' ...

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Marvel revealed the full title for the sequel to "The Avengers" at Comic-Con on Saturday. Director Joss Whedon popped by the star-studded presentation to announce that "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" would be the name of the second superhero ensemble film.

A teaser for the movie featuring glimpses at each Avenger's character logo debuted as well, wrapping up Marvel's presentation.

avengers age of ultron

Ultron, the villain in the upcoming movie, first appeared in the late '60s. The character, written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by John Buscema, appears to be something of a star in the fanboy world and elicited strong reactions in Comic-Con's infamous Hall H:

Ultron was revived for a short 10-comic run, fittingly titled "Age of Ultron," which as released in March. Famed comics writer Brian Michael Bendis wrote the storyline. TheWrap notes that following the more recent Ultron storyline could mean the sequel charts a much darker path than the first (because apparently ruining most of a major city isn't gloomy enough).

"Age of Ultron" is set for a May 1, 2015 debut. The Marvel panel also featured appearances by the likes of Tom Hiddleston (in character as Loki), a "Thor: The Dark World" trailer and appearances from Marvel stars like "Captain America" lead Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Zoe Saldana, Benicio del Toro, Chris Pratt and more.

More Marvel talk is available in the live blog that follows the gallery below.

'I'm Looking For A Husband'

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SAN DIEGO — The entire cast of X-Men thrilled fans at Comic-Con by uniting on stage Saturday in the San Diego Convention Center's largest hall.

Ian McKellan, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McEvoy, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage, Hugh Jackman and others made for an impressive panel.

Director Bryan Singer also gave fans a first look at "X-Men: Days of Future Past," which is currently filming in Montreal.

McKellan said he was happy to be back in California at Comic-Con.

"I feel safe here now that you got rid of Prop. 8," he said, referring to the recently abolished law that prohibited same-sex marriage.

"I'm looking for a husband," he said. "It's great to meet you, Michael."

Fassbender blushed.

McKellan also said that the friendship he developed with Stewart making the "X-Men" movies led the two to work together on Broadway in two productions this fall.

Jackman also promoted his new film, "The Wolverine," which opens next week. The actor called the claw-wielding superhero "the greatest role out there."

"This is two great movies in one," he said. "The fact I'm with everybody here is something I'll never forget."

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at . www.twitter.com/APSandy

Big Kiss Not A Big Deal?

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SAN DIEGO — Actor Chris Evans recently filmed a kiss with co-star Scarlett Johansson on the set of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" – and says it was a little like kissing his sister.

The two stars reprise their roles as Captain America and Black Widow in the sequel, currently in production and set for release next April.

Evans said in an interview Saturday at Comic-Con to promote the new film that he's known Johansson for more than a decade since they co-starred in the 2002 film "Perfect Score."

"She was a kid. She was like 16 or 17 years old," Evans said. "I've known her for over a decade now, so she's like my sister. We have this little kiss scene. It will all make sense in the movie."

The 32-year-old Evans didn't want to underplay the kiss – "It's still a big deal, let's be real" – but as one of film's hunkiest leading men and the boyfriend of actress Minka Kelly, kissing beautiful women is a way of life. He says he and Kelly, the 33-year-old "Friday Night Lights" star, have no problem with jealously over their on-screen relationships.

"My girl's an actor, too, so you kind of understand that," Evans said. "We're like, `Hey, it's Ok. It's what we do, what we do, what we do."

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The Surprise Star Of Comic-Con

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SAN DIEGO -- Thor's evil brother, Loki, took over the Marvel Studios presentation at Comic-Con on Saturday.

Lights flashed inside the San Diego Convention Center's largest exhibition hall, and Tom Hiddleston, dressed as Loki, commanded the stage. He called Hall H "a meager palace of Midgard" before showing footage from "Thor: The Dark World."

It opened with an epic battle scene, in which Thor takes down a massive monster, reducing him to a pile of rubble with one swing of his hammer.

The cast of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" shared footage from that film. It also opened with a dynamic fight scene: Captain America battling a dozen assailants in a glass elevator.

Other highlights included the introduction of the "Guardians of the Galaxy" cast, which includes Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Djimon Honsou.

Mixed martial-artist Dave Bautista said he fought hard for the role of Drax.

"It's something I wanted more than anything I've ever wanted in my life," the tattooed bodybuilder said. "When I got the job, I broke down and cried like a little baby."

"Avengers" director Joss Whedon made a surprise appearance at the panel, where he offered an early look at the sequel.

A teaser trailer for "Avengers: Age of Ultron" ended with an image of the title character.

Kevin Feige, head of Marvel Studios, says "Guardians" is the company's attempt to push the Marvel cinematic universe in new directions beyond "The Avengers" franchise that might not be familiar to the casual fan. The film takes place on the other side of the universe, for the most part, he says, and features non-humanoid characters that will require computer-generated images to pull off.

"It's a very important movie for us for expanding the definition of what a Marvel Studios movie can be the way `Iron Man' 1 was a very important movie for us," Feige said in an interview earlier Saturday.

"People didn't know if Marvel could do it by themselves. They didn't know if Iron Man was an A-list character. People called Iron Man a B-list character then. We had a lot to prove there. With `Guardians' they don't call it anything because they don't know what the heck it is. There's very little recognition. It's got its own fan base as all the titles do, but that's not why we're making it. We're making it because we want to do something very different."

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AP Music Writer Chris Talbott in San Diego contributed to this report.

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at . www.twitter.com/APSandy


Jen's Espadrilles Cost HOW Much?

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This week marks the hottest one we've had this summer, and many A-listers chose to brave the heat in some pretty affordable (and fashion-forward) looks.

We practically jumped for joy when we spotted Jennifer Aniston in a pair of $105 Stuart Weitzman espadrilles, and we could barely contain our excitement when we found out that Olivia Palermo only shelled out $74 for her flirty white skirt. But the best deal of the week has to go to Michelle Trachtenberg for her wildly reasonable Juicy Couture earrings. We can't decide which item to buy first -- good thing we have all summer to decide.

What do you think was the best find of the week?

Want more? Be sure to check out HuffPost Style on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram at @HuffPostStyle.

Things Will Never Be The Same For Deb & Dexter

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Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 8, Episode 4 of Showtime's "Dexter," titled "Scar Tissue."

Things will never be the same for Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) and Dexter (Michael C. Hall) Morgan. The fourth episode of "Dexter" Season 8, the show's final season, ended with Deb going off the deep end in more ways than one.

In the final moments of the episode, Deb attempted to kill both herself and her brother Dexter by driving their car into a lake. However, once Deb was saved by a witness, she went back to rescue Dexter.

"In the first four episodes of this season, Deb is searching for her bottom, and I think she's surprised to see just how low it actually is. She hits it when the car hits the water. When she looks back, she is able to see Dexter as this living, breathing person and it makes him real in that instant," Carpenter told The Hollywood Reporter. "It makes all of the other stuff secondary to that. As long as he is alive, there is hope for ... if not a real brother-sister relationship ... at least an understanding, and there's hope for her having a real ally in her life."

The incident will change Deb, who has been struggling with killing LaGuerta and forgiving Dexter.

"It's like reading the last paragraph in a chapter of a book -- it gives her a start to a new one. I'm not sure that Deb actually has the foresight to or even the tools to plan for what that might look like. Dexter numbs her ability to make plans because he's forever changing the landscape of every situation. At the end of Episode 4, that repair certainly looks possible, not only with Dexter, but within herself. I think Deb is able to see him anew, not fresh and clean, and the slate certainly hasn't been wiped clean, but it's a possibility to change the picture drawn on it," she told THR.

"Dexter" recently had its final Comic-Con panel and brought out several past players: Erik King (Sgt. Doakes), Julie Benz (Rita Bennett) and Lauren Velez (Captain LaGuerta). John Lithgow also made an appearance via a video message. During the panel, the cast discussed the end of the show and looked back on the past eight years.

"When we meet Dexter, we believe what he's telling us, but I always believed his voiceover is not the bottom line in terms of what he believes or what is motivating him. I think we're meant to be suspicious of his claim that he's 100 percent psychopath," Hall said, and then noted, "I've always been on Dexter's side myself."

Carpenter told the Comic-Con crowd that her hopes were for Deb to die. "I wanted her and [I] want her to die. As an actor, it's because I love her," Carpenter explained. "It's a little like how [Dexter] treats his victims. I want her to go to the bottom of her abyss where all her secrets lie so I don't spend the next eight years [thinking about Deb and having her in my head]."

Click over to THR for more from Carpenter.

"Dexter" airs Sundays, 10 p.m. ET on Showtime.

R.I.P.D. vs. M.I.B.

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In this episode of Funny or Die's "Trailer Trash," Sterling Mañana points out the multiple similarities between the upcoming "Rest In Peace Department" and the sci-fi classic, 'Men In Black.'

For instance, both movies follow a rebellious street cop who gets recruited by a secret government agency, discovers aliens, is freaked out by said aliens, has to fight them regardless, all the while dealing with his older experienced partner who doesn't really like him. It's pretty much, as Sterling Mañana put it, a "genetically mutated clone baby" of "Men In Black."

Check it out above and see what you think.

Watch A Drunk Florence Welch Cover Daft Punk

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It's always possible that the tequila shot she's holding was just a prop and that Florence Welch was completely sober during this filming, but by all other accounts, this is a video of a drunk Welch doing her best at covering Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" and The Gossip's "The Way of Control." Long live YouTube.


Kel's Back On Nickelodeon

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Kel Mitchell is returning to his roots on Nickelodeon!

HuffPost TV can exclusively reveal that the actor, who spent the majority of the '90s doing sketch comedy on "Kenan and Kel" and "All That," will be back on Nickelodeon this fall on the network's new hit series "Sam and Cat."

On a fall episode of "Sam of Cat" -- which stars Jennette McCurdy and Ariana Grande, respectively, as the titular characters -- Mitchell will play Big Peezy, a huge rap star who hires Sam to be his assistant. But the gig causes problems for Cat, who finds babysitting much more challenging without Sam around to help.

Mitchell, who taped his episode last week, tweeted at McCurdy and Grande.

The actor has been doing a lot of voice work as of late, lending his voice to characters on Nicktoons' "Wild Grinders" and Disney XD's "Motorcity." Mitchell also recently popped up on an episode of "Good Luck Charlie" on Disney Channel.

Check out two full photos of Mitchell on the set of "Sam and Cat" below:

kel mitchell nickelodeon

kel mitchell nickelodeon

Watch "Sam and Cat" on Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET on Nickelodeon and look for Mitchell's appearance this fall.

One Direction Hunk Defends Equal Rights After WBC Protest

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Harry Styles was unfazed by members of the Westboro Baptist Church picketing outside One Direction's Missouri concert Friday night. Instead of reacting harshly to the group's messages of hate, he used the moment to speak out on behalf of equal rights.

Last month, the Westboro Baptist Church first threatened to protest One Direction's Kansas City, Mo., concert on July 19. They called the five bandmates "perverted" representations of the "sin-chasing, fag-enabling, God-hating, Christ-rejecting" United Kingdom.

The group is particularly annoyed about how the pop singers touch each other onstage.

"These freaks and their fans think it's funny for these five perverts to grab each other's asses on stage," read the group's June statement. "They glamorize sin and make a mock of God's standards. Their one purpose is to encourage the youth of this generation to pursue every lust their evil hearts can imagine."

On Friday, WBC showed up to picket the performance outside the Sprint Center. Protestors arrived armed with signs reading, "God Hates the UK," "God Hates Sluts" and "United U Fall."

But Styles didn't seem to care about Westboro's outcries.

The group responded by "thanking" Styles for bringing focus to God's word.

Westboro planned to protest Train on Saturday. Boyz II Men, 98 Degrees and New Kids on the Block were targeted Sunday.

The boys of One Direction have faced gay rumors in the past. Some questioned if 19-year-old Styles and bandmate Louis Tomlinson were more than just friends, and Lance Bass said one of the five is "probably" gay. However, the members have denied any such talk.

As for Styles, he publicly retweeted support for same-sex marriage rights in the U.K. earlier this year.

9 Things We're Not Looking Forward To This Week

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1. Literally everything about the Royal Baby.

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2. Lying to the dentist about flossing.

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3. The news that Batman and Superman are teaming up... because there's no way that could go wrong.

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4. And speaking of ill-conceived crossovers... this is happening.

peter griffin

5. Not getting an invitation to Selena Gomez's 21st birthday.

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6. Making fun of Geraldo's selfie... but being secretly impressed.

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7. Realizing you watched the entire season of "Orange is the New Black" way too fast.

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8. Giving up hope of rolling deep with a crew of teeny tiny microbial Martian friends.

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9. Every. Single. Famous person. Making a Kickstarter.

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The First Look At 'The Good Wife' Is INTENSE

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"The Good Wife" is back in production and HuffPost TV has the exclusive first look at the Season 5 premiere.

The photo features Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) and Cary Agos (Matt Czuchry) chatting in the hallway. Chatting about what? Perhaps their plans to leave Lockhart/Gardner and make their own firm? You'll have to tune in to find out.

the good wife season 5

"The Good Wife" Season 5 premiere will feature "Arrested Development" star Jeffrey Tambor as a judge. Plus, Jess Weixler will be back as Robyn. She was last seen being approached by Cary to join the new firm.

In addition to Tambor, there will be a few more new faces on "The Good Wife" this season. Melissa George will appear as Marilyn, the in-house ethics counsel for Peter Florrick (Chris Noth). Former "Outsourced" star Ben Rappaport will play a fourth year attorney at Lockhart/Gardner and Juliet Rylance will play Holly, an Assistant State's Attorney who has a history with Kalinda (Archie Panjabi).

"The Good Wife" returns for Season 5 on Sunday, September 29 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.

See Kelly Osbourne's Engagement Ring!

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Kelly Osbourne gave us a glimpse of her gorgeous engagement ring this weekend after posting a photo of her funky new manicure on Instagram.

The newly engaged star's rock could be seen prominently sitting on her left ring finger as she flaunted her glittery nail polish.

Osbourne, who is set to marry her boyfriend of two years, Matthew Mosshart, custom-designed her round diamond ring, telling Hello! magazine, "I designed it to look like an earring that my father wore. I used to hold my finger up to his ear when I was little and say, 'I want a ring like that.' Now I have one!"

Celebrities Tweet Excitement Over Royal Baby News

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The world came to a screeching halt (our world, that is), when we reached for our phones this morning and saw an email that read: "Kate Middleton has gone into labor." It seems as though it has been a long nine months following Kate Middleton's pregnancy, especially when it came to tracking her impeccable maternity fashion choices. But now our focus has shifted from the Duchess of Cambridge's baby bump-baring dresses to the actual royal baby.

We aren't the only ones excited about the littlest royal. Celebrities such as Joan Collins, Chrissy Teigen, Kelly Osbourne and Mel B. have all taken to their Twitter accounts in anticipation of the royal baby birth. But leave it up to reality star Spencer Pratt to sour the good news by reminding us not to "interrupt his #KUWTK feed." (Yes, Spencer Pratt is apparently still around.)

Click through the slideshow below to read these and more Twitter reactions to Kate Middleton's labor.

Want more? Be sure to check out HuffPost Style on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram at @HuffPostStyle.

Denette Wilford: 'Summer Camp' Rocks

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Growing up, I never went to a proper sleepaway camp. I don't know if it's because I wasn't interested or my parents didn't want me to, but I never really thought I was missing anything. That is, until I watched the latest reality series, Summer Camp.

What some kids experienced when they went away -- roasting marshmallows and hot dogs, telling scary stories by the campfire stories, spinning a bottle -- is nothing like the TV version. Because that would be boring. Fans wouldn't watch the latest Bachelor or Bachelorette take their dates to dinner and a movie; they want to see over-the-top outings where the women ski in bikinis or the dudes oil up and wrestle the competition. So, naturally, TV camp is different than real-life camp. It's like Survivor and Big Brother rolled into one, minus the racism, homophobia and sexism (so far). And while it might sound a little been-there, done-that, the difference with past attempts and Summer Camp is that here it makes sense.

Summer Camp features eight men taking on eight women in classic camp games, albeit more heightened. The captain of the losing team must choose two campers to banish to the winning team's camp and there, the winners decide which of the two gets to stay (after they get a last-ditch effort to explain why they should stay) and who gets sent home (by school bus, naturally). As the teams are whittled down, later in the summer, those remaining compete in a Campathalon that will determine which campers will split the $250,000 grand prize.

Summer Camp may be a reality competition, but it's also an ideal way for viewers to take a trip down memory lane. (Well, those of you who were fortunate enough to go away to camp.) It might be nostalgic for you as your remember your first time away from home: your first wedgie, your first pen pal, your first s'more (something I still haven't had, to this day), your first crush, your first kiss, your first heartbreak -- all the experiences, good and bad.

Each of the campers/competitors are labelled accordingly ("geek," "bodybuilder," "clown," "mean girl" -- and boy, oh boy, is she ever) and it's a nice, diverse group of 16. As to be expected, cliques are formed quickly, and the alliances are not surprising. As for the challenges, they might seem Survivor-like but that's more because of the outdoorsy feel. Summer Camp's competitions are more like Big Brother, which is no coincidence since the eight-episode series comes from BB producers Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan. And there's another reality show link here; the show is hosted by American Idol alum Matt Rogers.

Summer Camp is fun and fluffy, the perfect summer series. The concept takes the audience back to a time and place they remember fondly (or want to forget immediately); it's just up to viewers if they want to relive their teen years. The show boasts a lot of heart and takes us on a ride many of us can identify with, even if we didn't get to go to camp.

Summer Camp airs on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on Slice in Canada, and on USA in the U.S., Thursdays 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT.

Spike Lee Wants Your Money

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Director Spike Lee has announced a Kickstarter campaign for his next directorial effort, a feature about "human beings who are addicted to blood." (It's not "Blacula," Lee wrote on the Kickstarter page). Added the director: "There's a lot of sex in it too."

In the video accompanying the announcement, Lee cited the recent Kickstarter wins by "Veronica Mars" and Zach Braff as just some of the reasons why he came to the crowd-funding website for support. The director offered little other information about the project in the clip, but fans shouldn't expect the plot to rely on superheroes, CGI or explosions.

With the current climate in The Hollywood Studio System it's not an encouraging look for Independent Filmmakers. I'm not hating, just stating the facts. Super Heroes, Comic Books, 3D Special EFX, Blowing up the Planet Nine Times and Fly through the Air while Transforming is not my Thang. To me it's not just that these Films are being made but it seems like these are the only films getting made. To The Studios it seems like every Film must be a Home run on a Global scale, a Tent Pole Enterprise, able to spin off Sequel after Sequel after Sequel after Sequel after Sequel after Sequel.

[...]

Do you wish to see Human Beings dealing with each other on a Human Level? How many more explosions with Ear splitting Sound Effects can you take? C'mon People, please get behind this Joint.

In the video announcing the project, Lee elaborated on that point. "Filmmaking is what I do. Filmmaking is what I love. And you guys help me keep it going, because this is a motherf--king tough business," he said. "I'm going to keep fighting the powers that be."

The veteran director behind such films as "Do The Right Thing," "Malcolm X," "The 25th Hour," "Inside Man" and more ("This is a motherf--king body of work right here," Lee said in the video) had initially teased that the announcement would come on July 15, but the official Kickstarter bow was delayed by one week. Lee didn't specify what caused the false start.

Unfortunately, Lee initially tweeted out a bad link to the Kickstarter page. He corrected the mistake after a second try. (Kudos to Lee for not erasing the initial errors.)

For more on Lee's new project, head to Kickstarter.

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