By Eric Ditzian

For the second year in a row, and the sixth time this decade, the Los Angeles Lakers have made it to the NBA Finals. And judging by who was in the courtside seats during Game 1 against the Orlando Magic on Thursday night, the celebrity fan excitement for a shot at another championship has not worn off.

Among the stars in attendance at L.A.'s Staples Center were Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy Tell'em, Randy Jackson, Benji Madden, Cee-Lo, Anthony Kiedis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington, Tobey Maguire, Jack Nicholson and Lauren Conrad.

Conrad was so impressed with her prime real estate behind the basket that she took to her Twitter to say, "Best seat I will ever sit in. ... Go Lakers!!"

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers did not disappoint, routing the Magic 100-75. Bryant led the way with 40 points and eight assists. The series picks up again on Sunday in L.A. Game 3 will take place Tuesday in Orlando, where the star wattage might be, oh, just a bit dimmer.

By Matt Wenzel

"Hills" star Lauren Conrad said she won't be going to Heidi and Spencer's wedding. We talked to LC about the wedding, possible gifts and more.

Bigger Than the Sound offers a few suggestions, in honor of Earth Day, of albums that deserve recycling.

Last night was disco night on "American Idol." Find out which singers caught disco fever.

Will Deeper than Rap make Rick Ross hip-hop's next big superstar? One MTV Newser thinks so.

Mike Tyson talks about how he didn't even know that a new version of the classic game "Punch-Out" was coming to the Wii. He also didn't like the original "Punch-Out," and prefers a few other games instead.

By Rachel Josue

Last night, most of the "Hills" cast attended an event at the Paley Center for Media, where their show was honored. A certain couple did not make the event, however, presumably because they're putting the finishing touches on their weekend wedding plans. The rest of the cast were all about discussing Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt's forthcoming nuptials, although no one seems to know yet what they're wearing.

At this event's red carpet, all the "Hills" girls were looking as glam as always. Audrina wore a one-shoulder number with her hair up, revealing the colorful tattoo on the back of her neck. Whitney left her "City" life to be in L.A., wearing an almost nude T-back dress. Lauren showed off her deep tan with a sunny yellow number that was tied off with a leather belt. Lo's aqua-and-cobalt ensemble was a colorful addition to the carpet, but how did she feel about Stephanie's very similar aqua and black look? Hmm … (Check out photos of the girls after the jump, plus browse the entire Paley Center event photo gallery.) Read more...

Just as Lauren Conrad wraps up her time on "The Hills," she is also taking a break from her clothing line.

The reality-TV star blogged about the hiatus and explained her reasoning. "A few days ago, a statement was released to the showrooms that carry my clothing line," she wrote. "It asked them to let the stores know that I was planning to take a couple seasons off from my line so that I could make some changes that I felt were necessary."

Initial reports said the line was actually dropped from stores, but Conrad wrote that this "isn't the case at all. As a result, a lot of people were under the impression that my line was being discontinued or had been dropped. The truth is, I was the one who asked to take a couple seasons off."

She said she's taking a break to learn more and grow as a designer. "I have learned so much in the past year, and I want to apply that to the improvement of my clothing line," she said. "I also wanted to make some changes in production so I would be able to lower the price point."

Now that she's done with "The Hills," Conrad will have a lot more free time on her hands to work on her designs. "I am actually really excited about beginning this process," she continued. "I have spent the last couple weeks working on designs for spring, which is when I am planning to bring the (new and improved) line back. I also have some very exciting things going on that will be announced shortly."

From "The Hills" to Taco Bell — kinda odd, right?

Well, apparently red-carpet faves Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt from the hit MTV show didn't get the memo. So when the duo turned up this morning at what we're sure will be the new hot spot in L.A. — the Taco Bell at Venice and La Brea — to once again team up with the restaurant chain to raise awareness for world hunger, it was a shock to some patrons who were in a hurry to get their quesadillas.

See what Heidi has to say about Lauren, after the jump!
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Hey, struggling writers, did you hear? Lauren Conrad, star of "The Hills," got a book deal! You know, the girl who already has a hit TV series and a clothing line? Wait, it gets better. Her contract is for three books!

At the very least, she's following the cardinal rule of writing: Write what you know. The young adult series "L.A. Candy" tells "the behind-the-scenes story of a young girl who moves to L.A. and unexpectedly becomes the star of a reality-television show," according to a press release publisher HarperCollins sent to Usmagazine.com. The main character soon realizes that "everyone wants something from her, and nothing is what it appears to be."

"I've always loved books that I could lose myself in, ones that would transport me to another place but had characters I could relate to," LC said in a statement. "I'm so excited to have this opportunity to write books like that for other readers."

Read more...

Every year, the red carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards is filled with stars walking that oh-so-fine line between fashion triumph and fashion tragedy — with some fashionistas showing they can pull off the latter category as couture. And over the years, we've seen some of the biggest names in the entertainment world make some famous and infamous decisions when it comes to their red-carpet finery.

There are the stars that show up and just make us go wow! Like when Megan Fox and Rihanna both went hot pink for the 2007 broadcast. Or, when Justin Timberlake went solo in 2006 and showed everyone that one is far from the loneliest number! Read more...

This in from MTV News cameraman and producer Todd Brown, who spent last night at the party for finale of the third season of “The Hills”:

The party was held at a multi-million dollar mansion high up in Beverly Hills, far above Los Angeles. In order to get to the top of the hill, we had to load in to vans and drive up a steep and windy mountain road. Most of the “Hills” cast were there -- as well as Usher, The All-American Rejects, Tyga, Jessie McCartney, and Schwayze, to name a few. Surprisingly, and probably because of some underplayed and hardly-ever-mentioned beef with Lauren Conrad, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt did not show.

In addition to the stars, there were hundreds of cocktail dress-wearing young fans, there for the chance to see their favorite semi-reality stars up close. After walking the red carpet, the “Hills” cast mingled with the fans and took pictures -- and then they all watched the show together on a huge, 30-foot outdoor screen.

The entire event was shot with more than 7 different camera crews, including the Goodyear blimp(!), and aired live on MTV and MTV.com.

For more on “The Hills,” head to the Remote Control blog. And you can check out more photos from the party here.

· Common has reportedly been recruited to play a freedom fighter in the fourth installment of the “Terminator” movie series.

· LC, Audrina, Heidi, etc will return with yet another brain-melting season of “The Hills.”

· Sebastian Bach apparently didn’t understand that Scott Weiland was kidding when he suggested he replace him as the frontman for Velvet Revolver.

· A woman who attended a private NY party with Lindsay Lohan a few months back claims that the actress/singer/something walked off with her $11,000 mink. Lawyers were called, and the coat was returned -- smelling of a few too many parties.

· Will.I.Am refuses to take part in the human-rights boycott of China, saying the Black Eyed Peas have no problem playing there.

· OMG, maybe Heidi and Lauren from “The Hills” do have something in common after all! They both love John McCain.

· Talent from “The Simpsons” and “Arrested Development” are creating a new animated show -- and you know it’s got a good chance of being amazing.

· Behold the Jimi Hendrix sex tape -- um, alleged, of course.