Coming soon . . .

Out this week

- Albums

- Kris Allen by Kris Allen: The singer's first new album since winning American Idol; features his single Live Like We're Dying, and a cover of Kanye West's Heartless; the album will not include his Idol coronation song, the widely panned No Boundaries.

- Echo by Leona Lewis: The X Factor winner's follow-up to her 2007 debut Spirit; features contributions by Ryan Tedder, Justin Timberlake, Max Martin, Kevin Rudolf; also includes a cover of Oasis's Stop Crying Your Heart Out.

- Also released: The Fall by Norah Jones, Battle Studies by John Mayer, Waking Up by OneRepublic, and hits compilations from Janet Jackson (Number Ones), Foo Fighters (Greatest Hits) and Fall Out Boy (Believers Never Die: Greatest Hits).

- Movies

- 2012 (John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, Woody Harrelson, Danny Glover, Chiwetel Ejiofor) – disaster movie; science fiction writer Jackson Curtis (Cusack) and his family struggle for survival as the world comes to an end.

- Pirate Radio (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, Kenneth Branagh) – comedy; the story of a fictitious 1960's pirate radio station broadcasting from a ship.

- The Messenger (Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone) – drama; American soldiers struggle to cope with life, death and love.

- Fantastic Mr. Fox (George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzmann, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Jarvis Cocker, Adrien Brody) – animation, based on the novel by Roald Dahl; Mr Fox (Clooney) raids local farms for food, as the angry farmers try to get rid of him and his family.

Stars Gerard James Butler

- Born on the 13th of November 1969 in Scotland.

- Graduated from the Glasgow University with a law degree.

- Was the lead singer for a Scottish rock band.

- Got his first film role as Archie Brown in Mrs. Brown (1997); has since been in films including Dracula 2000 (2000), Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003), The Phantom of the Opera (2004), 300 (2007), RocknRolla (2008), and Law Abiding Citizen (2009).

- Was rumoured to be in consideration for the role of James Bond after Pierce Brosnan.

- Is currently filming The Bounty Hunter which co-stars Jennifer Aniston; the film is scheduled to be released next year.

Also celebrating their birthday today: Monique Coleman, Nikolai Fraiture (The Strokes), Chanel Cole, Steve Zahn, Jimmy Kimmel, Chris Noth, Neil Flynn, Whoopi Goldberg, Joe Mantegna

Celeb tweets

- Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk): New York, London, Paris, Munich. Just realized my Nov[ember] schedule exactly mimics the one-hit-wonder "Pop Muzik." Some like New Wave; I live it.

- Brooke White (@realbrookewhite): today feels strange... not bad strange... just strange... saying the word "strange" over and over begins to sound... strange :-/

- Stephen Fry (@stephenfry): Dreamt I solved the Poincaré Conjecture using a tennis racket, a teapot & a rubber sheet. It really worked but vital steps gone.

- Christina Applegate (@1capplegate): I just found myself yelling "don't make the deal" watching Let's Make a Deal. I think I need to get out more!

Awards

MTV Europe Music Awards 2009

Winners:

- Best Song: Beyoncé – Halo

- Best Video: Beyoncé – Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)

- Best Female: Beyoncé

- Best Urban: Jay-Z

- Best Live Act: U2

- Best Rock: Green Day

- Best Alternative: Placebo

- Best Group: Tokio Hotel

- Best New Act: Lady Gaga

- Best Male: Eminem

- Best Push Artist: Pixie Lott

- Best European Act: maNga (Turkey)