Creed frontman Scott Stapp says the reunited group is about "a week and a half away" from pre-production for its new album, tentatively titled "Full Circle." And he promises that "we're going to have an album mixed and mastered in the next five weeks" -- hopefully for an August release. "We're excited to share (the new music) with our fans, and we really have a lot we want to prove" after a five-year hiatus, Stapp tells Billboard.com. He says Creed -- which hits the road Aug. 6 for a 10-week tour -- has "13, 14 songs that we would consider as album keepers" for the group's first set of new material since 2001's "Weathered." We've written more than that, but we've got this many that are fighting for a spot on the record. So we're in a good place." The group plans to record in Nashville with producer Howard Benson. Stapp says Creed came up with the song "Full Circle" during its first session playing together and hope to release that track as the album's first single, perhaps by late June. Other pending song titles include "A Thousand Faces," "Slow Suicide" and "Don't Give Up," and the frontman says there's "a lot of reflection" in the new material, much of which focuses on the "resolution" Stapp and his bandmates have found between each other and in their own lives. "It's not a hopeless, complaining record," Stapp says. "It's telling stories, but it's also rocking out, man. We're rocking harder now with some of the songs than we ever have. It's from a different place and a different type of reflection and a different level of maturity, but we're a rock band, so there's still that brashness. There's a confidence and a swagger that I think we only feel collectively. Our music is fresh and still very connected to who we are and the sound we have, but it's also taken a natural evolution." While preparing to record, Creed has also been focusing on its tour, with a repertoire that will include "all the Creed songs people want to hear" as well as the new material, plus plenty of pyrotechnics. "We're working on putting on the biggest rock show we've ever done," Stapp reports. "We're all better performers and entertainers now, and real confident in the songs. We're really excited to present where we are today and just be able to stand up and feel that we're relevant now as a band." (Billboard)

Pitbull unleashes his first top 10, "American Idol" spurs movement for Katy Perry, Jordin Sparks and the Fray, and Jeremih jumps into the top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart this week. Pitbull’s 10th Hot 100 appearance marks his first top 10, as “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" jumps 11-4. The song posts an 11-2 leap on Hot Digital Songs with 129,000 downloads (up 69%), while also reaching the top 10 of Hot 100 Airplay (14-9) with 62 million listener impressions (up 10%).  The Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" spends a seventh week at No. 1 and becomes the act's first Hot 100 Airplay topper. Lady GaGa's "Poker Face" holds at No. 2 and Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain's "Blame It" again ranks at No. 3. Kid Cudi's "Day ‘N' Nite" dips 4-5, Beyonce's "Halo" descends a spot to No. 6 and 3OH!3 lifts 8-7 with "Don't Trust Me." Flo Rida feat. Wynter's "Sugar" drops from No. 6 to No. 8, while Jeremih collects his first top 10, as "Birthday Sex" sizzles 13-9. The song also takes over the summit of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Rounding out the top 10 is Soulja Boy Tell'em feat. Sammie's "Kiss Me Thru the Phone," which dips from No. 7 to No. 10. Three of last week's "American Idol" performances spur movement on this week's Hot 100. Katy Perry's "Waking Up in Vegas" rockets 51-13, while Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield" bows at No. 32. Newly-crowned "Idol" king Kris Allen's cover of Kanye West's "Heartless" enticed consumers to download the Fray's similar organic rendition, which enters at No. 79. Eminem nets the chart's Hot Shot Debut at No. 17 with "Beautiful," the fifth song to chart from his new album "Relapse," set to debut atop next week's Billboard 200 album chart. The Jonas Brothers' "Paranoid" pops on at No. 37. Even with the siblings' new series recently launching on the Disney Channel, the first single from their new set “Lines, Vines and Trying Times,” due June 16, starts with a relatively modest 65,000 downloads. The sum is well below the 183,000 shifted last July by “Burnin’ Up,” the preview track from the trio's last studio set, "A Little Bit Longer." Also new on this week's Hot 100 is Cobra Starship feat. "Gossip Girl" star Leighton Meester's "Good Girls Go Bad" at No. 76; Jessie James' "Wanted," co-written by "Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi, at No. 87; Darius Rucker's third country single "Alright" at No. 91; the Pussycat Dolls feat. Nicole Scherzinger's "Hush Hush" at No. 96; and Trey Songz' "I Need a Girl" at No. 100. As Green Day launches on the Billboard 200 at No. 1 with "21st Century Breakdown," lead single "Know Your Enemy" advances 2-1 on the Mainstream Rock airplay tally. On the Hot Dance Club Play chart, Depeche Mode claims its eighth No. 1, as "Wrong" rises to the top slot. The coronation ties the veteran act with Pet Shop Boys for the most No. 1s among groups. The latter act meanwhile debuts at No. 36 with "Love Etc.," the first single from its new album, "Yes." (Billboard)

He may have insisted his name did not appear on the "Watchmen" movie. But legendary comic book writer Alan Moore has been enthusiastic in his partnership with U.K. indie Lex Records on the release of a new work including an audiobook and soundtrack. Moore has already recorded the two-hour audio book for the deluxe package of the semi-autobiographical work, which is likely too appear in early 2010. "It has a score by some artists and the visual side of it is amazing," Tom Brown, founder of London-based Lex, tells Billboard.biz. The score that accompanies the book is being worked on by Andrew Broder of alternative act Fog and spoken word artist Adam Drucker. Brown says musicians in the frame to provide key elements of the soundtrack include Mike Patton of Faith No More and Justin Broadrick, formerly of industrial metal band Godflesh. Patton is working on separate Lex project with Tunde Adebimpe of U.S. alt-rock act TV on the Radio. "Mike Patton has a really hectic year because Faith No More has reformed and they are doing the festivals," says Brown. "I know they have both [Patton, Broadrick] been sounded out and they said they are both into it." Brown says that Lex's deluxe release will include the book - which Brown describes as a "photographic novel" rather than a graphic novel like Moore's "Watchmen" or "V for Vendetta" - as well as art prints, a two-hour audiobook recorded by Moore (possibly on a memory stick) and the soundtrack on vinyl. It is not yet clear if the soundtrack will get a separate release on CD or as a download, but Brown says he wants this to be a special release and was partly inspired by Radiohead's deluxe version of "In Rainbows." "It's grown out of our production values and the music we work on," he says of the project. "We are being ambitious with it. By working with artists outside music, you can make releases that are really worthwhile." Although Brown says he doesn't want this release to be "elitist" he says it's important for indies to set up new revenue streams in the face of a declining CD market and small margins on downloads. Of working with Moore, he says it's "refreshing to meet somebody that important, culturally, that's really down to earth and still into the core of what they do." During the recording of the audiobook in Northampton, where Moore lives, the process was filmed for possible inclusion in the box set. "It's the first volume of a series and it is definitely in the direction of an autobiography," adds Brown. "I know that he's writing another volume at the moment." He adds that it is provisionally titled "Unearthing" and says it is possible the book will get a separate release by a publisher. Moore has made forays into music, although it is not clear if he will contribute to the soundtrack. Lex artists include Neon Neon, MF Doom and Danger Mouse. The label has had an upstream deal with EMI. (Billboard)


MOVIE . . .

It's sure to end up a battle of the divas! Cher has been cast alongside Christina Aguilera in the upcoming flick Burlesque. It's a musical! Cher plays the owner of a burlesque club at which Aguilera works, and she acts as a mentor to Aguilera's small-town girl. (Perez Hilton)

Brad Pitt admitted he agreed to take on the role in Inglourious Basterds after a drinking session with Quentin Tarantino. The actor admitted that it was "five bottles of wine and some smoking apparatus" that persuaded him to take on the part of Lieutenant Aldo Raine in the WWII film, which premiered last night in Cannes. "Quentin came to visit with the script. We talked about the back-story and about movies. I got up the next day and there were five empty bottles of wine lying on the floor - five - and something resembling smoking apparatus. I don't know what that was about," said the star, who attended the film festival with his partner Angelina Jolie. "Somehow I had agreed to do the movie, and six weeks later I was in a uniform playing Aldo Raine." The movie, which is up for the Palme d'Or, tells of a band of Jewish-American soldiers who seek retribution on the Nazis in France. (British Glamour)

It's Ben Stiller against the cyborgs at the multiplex this weekend. The comic actor's sequel, Fox's "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," has at least a chance of edging out the first new "Terminator" movie in almost six years for the No. 1 box-office ranking during the long Memorial Day weekend. That's largely because Warner Bros. will open "Terminator Salvation" Thursday with thousands of 12:01 a.m. performances, but weekend rankings will be based only on what the Christian Bale starrer grosses between Friday and Monday. Bale plays the franchise's recurring John Connor character, a cyborg-battling defender of mankind portrayed by Nick Stahl in 2003's "Terminator: Rise of the Machines." Bale's casting has drawn keen attention as it is his first big-screen appearance since last summer's Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight." Relative newcomer Sam Worthington -- who also will be seen in James Cameron's upcoming sci-fi actioner "Avatar" -- plays a cyborg, or a robot built from organic and synthetic parts, in a role of the sort that Arnold Schwarzenegger built a career on. As the first "Terminator" film to secure a PG-13 rating, "Salvation" is expected to draw younger than most hard-core actioners but not as young as "Smithsonian," which also should attract more females. Directed by McG ("Charlie's Angels"), prerelease surveys show "Salvation" drawing huge interest from males 17 and older. Among Memorial Day weekend openers of the past several years, Warners execs figure their pic's likely audience demos will most mimic those of 2005's "The Longest Yard," a remake of the classic football comedy that registered $58.6 million over the four-day holiday frame. If "Salvation" were to match that, an extra $10 million or so from its Thursday performances would see the gross approach $70 million through Memorial Day. "Our tracking is great, and the junket went really well," Warners distribution president Dan Fellman said. "We're very excited about this movie and looking forward to a strong weekend and a very long run." Produced by Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek's Halcyon for upward of $180 million, "Salvation" -- set for 3,530 domestic theaters this weekend -- was a negative pickup for Warners and Sony. The latter will distribute the film in most international territories beginning June 5, with "Salvation" bowing only in seven non-Sony territories in the Middle East and Korea this weekend and a handful of Sony territories during the May 29 frame. Meanwhile, the PG "Smithsonian" should play much like a family film but could split date-night business with "Salvation." In any event, the true measure of its success likely will lay over the longer haul. The original "Museum" opened in December 2006 with an undramatic $30.4 million but went on to ring up $251 million overall domestically. "Smithsonian" seems a cinch to register $50 million during the four-day frame, with its opening appeal among nonfamily patrons the key to whether it bows north of that figure. "There hasn't been a real family picture in the marketplace since 'Monsters vs. Aliens' opened, and I think audiences are champing at the bit for a great one," Fox distribution boss Bruce Snyder said. "Monsters" opened during a three-day March frame with $59 million and grossed $191 million overall domestically. Helmed by Shawn Levy ("The Pink Panther"), who also directed the "Museum" original, "Smithsonian" is set for an impressive 4,096 domestic playdates, including 160 high-grossing Imax venues. It also is getting a big day-and-date push abroad as Fox unspools the effects-laden pic in a whopping 93 foreign territories.  "Smithsonian" totes an estimated negative cost of $125 million after factoring in Canadian tax breaks. Also this weekend, Paramount unspools the Wayans brothers' comedy spoof "Dance Flick" in wide release. Like most Wayans films, "Flick" is likely to draw most heavily among urban moviegoers but could cross over into broader demos. The release should see teen millions during the long frame, but how high it climbs through Monday depends on how broadly the pic manages to play. Rated PG-13, "Flick" boasts an ensemble cast topped by Damon Wayans Jr., Craig Wayans, Shoshana Bush and Essence Atkins. Damien Dante Wayans gets his first feature directing credit. (Hollywood Reporter)

HighRoad Entertainment has optioned Ross Schwartz's original screenplay "Looking for Norma Desmond." The script takes inspiration from the Hollywood classic "Sunset Boulevard" in telling the complicated love story of a struggling writer and the aging former starlet whose comeback he engineers. In "Sunset," Gloria Swanson played fading star Desmond, whose career arc parallels that of Schwartz's lead character, Betty Moran. "Old Hollywood had an elegance, heart and style that we are in danger of losing," said Schwartz, whose father, Sherwood, created "The Brady Bunch" and "Gilligan's Island." "I tried to recapture a little of that world in the script." HighRoad's David Salzberg and Christian Tureaud are producing. Schwartz co-wrote the wine-tasting comedy "Bottle Shock," which played Sundance last year. HighRoad has produced the features "The Perfect Game" and "Running the Sahara" and the documentary "For Right or Wrong." The company also is developing the black auto-racing biopic "Silent Thunder" and "Angel of Oxnard," starring Cheech Marin. (Hollywood Reporter)

Douglas Cook and David Weisberg have been tapped to pen "Nick Ratchet," one of Stan Lee's POW Entertainment projects set up at Disney. The lighthearted mystery thriller centers on a Jekyll & Hyde struggle between a meek, ineffectual police officer and his online alter-ego, a tough avatar cop named Nick Ratchet who emerges from inside a video game to usurp the life of his creator. Richard LaGravenese is attached to direct "Ratchet," which is based on an idea of Lee's. Larry Jacobson and Sonny Grosso are producing. Lee is exec producing with POW partner Gill Champion. Brigham Taylor is overseeing for the studio. Cook and Weisberg, repped by CAA and Benderspink, are veteran scribes with such movies as Michael Bay's "The Rock" and the Ashley Judd starrer "Double Jeopardy" among their credits. They have the creature feature "Vespers" and the pirate movie "Captain Kidd" set up at Disney. (Hollywood Reporter)


TV . . .

American Idol delivered a surprise Wednesday as voters chose Kris Allen for the title over Adam Lambert, who had been considered the favorite for much of the show's eighth season. Allen, 23, a college student from Conway, Ark., came into Idol's final week as a hardworking underdog. Even on the last night of competition, judges favored Lambert, 27, a stage actor from San Diego, in two of three performances. "I think it was a tossup for me and him," Allen said in an interview afterward. "When Ryan (Seacrest) called my name, I pointed to Adam and said, 'You deserve this.' And he said, 'No, you deserve this.' "I think we both feel the same way about each other. You can't compare us, we're totally different, but we have a great relationship," Allen says. "I'm rooting for him. I'll be there to buy his CD." Going into the finale, much of the media and many fans pitted them against each other, dwelling on their obvious differences. But ultimately, their similarities carried them to the finale. Both took musical cues from last year's winner, David Cook, often taking great liberties with their material. That approach made them the season's most interesting contestants. Lambert grabbed early attention when, vowing to "fearlessly just give 'em a show," he auditioned with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. Arguably Idol's most technically adept vocalist to date, Lambert offered risky, unpredictable performances weekly, drastically altering Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire and singing falsetto-laced versions of The Tracks of My Tears and Tears for Fears' Mad World. Allen, on the other hand, got all of nine seconds of face time for his audition. But his semifinals performance of Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror impressed enough viewers to get him voted into the finals over more familiar hopefuls. As Idol progressed, he continued to bring an acoustic-rock sensibility to R&B hits like She Works Hard for the Money and Heartless. Tuesday's performance show drew 23.8 million viewers, a 12% drop from 2008's 27.1 million, but the singers' supporters cast a record number of votes for the two, just under 100 million. Says Lambert, "Kris is a great guy and deserves nothing but the best. I'm totally happy for him." He expects both their careers to "do well. 100 million votes? That's insane to get that many."  (Daily Record)

Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich wasn't allowed to appear in a network television reality show in Costa Rica, but his wife will. A federal judge barred Blagojevich, who faces federal corruption charges, from being on the NBC show I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here because it would send him out of the country. But his wife, Patti, accepted the network's offer to appear on the show and went to Los Angeles earlier this week to film a promotional shoot, said Glenn Selig, the Blagojevichs' publicist. The couple appeared on NBC's Today show Thursday to announce the move. Patti Blagojevich said she hopes her appearance on the reality series will help show that she isn't the profanity-spewing person portrayed on federal wiretaps. "I don't think those characterizations were fair at all," she said. According to the complaint filed by prosecutors, she was taped on an expletive-laced phone conversation suggesting the Tribune Co. "just fire" newspaper editors who didn't favor her husband. "I think that people who know me know the truth behind those comments," she said Thursday. In public, Patti Blagojevich has been generally been reserved, often shielding the couple's two children and avoiding television cameras herself. Now she'll be the one thrust into the spotlight. Rod Blagojevich said that although he won't be a contestant, he will be involved with the show in some way. In the meantime, he'll stay home to take care of the children. The former governor "jokes that in a way she will have it easier competing in the jungle," Selig said in a statement. "He knows how hard it is to take care of the kids and to run a home." Rod Blagojevich is charged with scheming to sell or trade President Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat and using the muscle of the governor's office to squeeze companies with state business for campaign contributions. He has pleaded not guilty. (Daily Record)

Some time ago, the Peacock network had another person in mind for a prime time talk show slot besides Jay Leno: Oprah Winfrey! Yes, the lady of daytime almost made it to late night. But when NBC approached Winfrey about the opportunity, she turned them down, suggesting she might have considered it earlier in her career, but not now. Smart move. Housewives usually fall asleep early. She would have never staid as big as she is (and we mean ratings-wise) if she had moved to prime time! (Perez Hilton)

"American Idol" wrapped its eighth season Wednesday with the lowest numbers ever for an "Idol" finale, including its first season, which aired in the summer. That follows similar all-time low marks for the show's final performance show on Tuesday. The two-hour-plus Wednesday extravaganza featuring performances by KISS, the surviving members of Queen, Rod Stewart, Cyndi Lauper and Steve Martin, posted 28.8 million viewers and a 10.0 rating in adults 18-49, according to estimates. It peaked at 34 million viewers in the final half-hour countdown to the upset victory by Kris Allen. Those would be astonishing numbers for any other series. But for the juggernaut "Idol," they are only good enough for last place among its finales, behind the first season's ender when an average of 23 million viewers (10.8/30 in 18-49) tuned in to see Kelly Clarkson crowned as the first American Idol. It was down 12% from last year's finale among 18-49 and 9% in total viewers. (Hollywood Reporter)

Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich wasn't allowed to appear in a network TV reality show in Costa Rica, so his wife will appear instead. A federal judge barred Blagojevich, who faces federal corruption charges, from being on the NBC show "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here" because it would send him out of the country. But his wife, Patti, accepted an offer from the network to appear instead and went to Los Angeles earlier this week to film a promotional shoot, said Glenn Selig, the Blagojevichs' publicist. The couple appeared on NBC's "Today" show Thursday to announce the move. Patti Blagojevich said she hopes her appearance on the reality series will help show that she isn't the profanity-spewing person portrayed on federal wiretaps. "I don't think those characterizations were fair at all," she said. According to the complaint filed by prosecutors, she was taped on an expletive-laced phone conversation suggesting the Tribune Co. "just fire" newspaper editors who didn't favor her husband. "I think that people who know me know the truth behind those comments," she said Thursday. In public, Patti Blagojevich has been generally been reserved, often shielding the couple's two children and avoiding television cameras herself. Now she'll be the one thrust into the spotlight. Rod Blagojevich said that although he won't be a contestant, he will be involved with the show in some way. In the meantime, he'll stay home to take care of the children. The former governor "jokes that in a way she will have it easier competing in the jungle," Selig said in a statement. "He knows how hard it is to take care of the kids and to run a home." Rod Blagojevich is charged with scheming to sell or trade President Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat and using the muscle of the governor's office to squeeze companies with state business for campaign contributions. He has pleaded not guilty.  (Hollywood Reporter)