Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com

She might be battling divorce rumors, an A-Rod scandal and a tell-all book by her brother, but maybe Madonna's still a small-town girl at heart, after all.

The Material Girl returned to her Michigan roots Saturday for a screening of her acclaimed documentary I Am Because We Are at the Traverse City Film Festival.

"You can take the girl out of Michigan, but you can't take the Michigan out of the girl," she told the crowd of 540 people. "There's something poetic about coming back to the place where I used to come for holidays—camping trips with my dad and stepmother and my very large family. It's great bringing my movie to a place that I feel familiar."

Madonna, who was raised in the Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills, did not address any of her recent controversies in the Q&A session that followed.

Keep Reading

Sipa via AP Images

Alex Rodriguez is trying to go down without much of his fight. (No, we're not referring to his postseason play.)

In court documents filed Thursday, the Yankees slugger admits to much of what was set forth by estranged wife Cynthia Rodriguez in the divorce petition she filed earlier this month, including her characterization of their five-year marriage as "irretrievably broken" (he makes mention in court docs of a certain Material acquaintance or any dalliances) and that Cynthia is a "loving and nurturing mother."

Notably, he denied her challenge of their prenuptial agreement, drawn up once upon a time to protect baseball's highest paid player from potentially coffer-draining situations such as this one.

Keep Reading

Say what you will about Life With My Sister Madonna author Christopher Ciccone—and trust us, we say stuff all the time—but the guy has an answer for everything: Madonna, Guy Ritchie, Gwyneth Paltrow and even whether he thinks Madge got a facelift.

Somehow, when he didn't flinch at Chelsea Handler's first question (which you should just watch to get the full impact), we knew this was going to be good.

Nancy Kaszerman/ZUMAPress.com, Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com

Working with Miley Cyrus reminded Brett Ratner of a "Beautiful Stranger" he once knew.

“She turns it on,” the filmmaker, who last month directed the video for Cyrus' new single "7 Things," exclusively tells E! News. “A lot like Madonna.”

Ratner, who also helmed the pop icon's "Beautiful Stranger" video for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, says he sees many similarities between Miley and Madonna, besides the whole first-initial thing.

Keep Reading

AP Photo

Just making sure the paparazzi aren't on A-Rod's payroll…

The estranged wife of New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez has demanded that her hubby's camp come clean on whether it's made any attempts to have her followed or to listen in on her conversations to add fuel to their already fiery divorce proceedings.

According to a routine motion filed last week in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, Cynthia Rodriguez is asking for any tape recordings, photographs, reports from investigators and all other evidence of shadowing "or other electronic surveillance conducted by [Alex] or others on [his] behalf." (View the motion.)

Keep Reading

E! Networks

It's Britney, bitch—and only E! News has the exclusive pictures of the pop star while filming a top-secret music video for pal Madonna's upcoming Sticky & Sweet tour.

The never-before-seen photos were taken at the Lot in West Hollywood, as seven cameras rolled simultaneously to capture the magic for a "short movie" that a source tells us will "be very deep."

For more exclusive pics, along with behind-the-scenes details about the triumphant shoot, check out our Exclusive: On Set With Britney gallery.

AP Photo/Bruno Bebert, file

Here's the scoop, bitch.

Cameras started to roll today on the video that Britney Spears is making for Madonna's upcoming Sticky & Sweet tour, which, sources tell E! News, will be the opening video for each show.

The "Are you ready to rumble?!" video, if you will.

The shoot took place today at the Lot in West Hollywood, the former site of Warner Hollywood, United Artists and the Samuel Goldwyn Studios.

An on-set source said that Britney arrived at around 9 a.m. and was holed up in her dressing room by 9:30. The "Toxic" singer didn't start shooting her scenes until noon and was still on the set a few hours later.

According to our insiders, the planned "short movie" will take place inside an elevator, where seven cameras will be strategically placed to capture the magic. The scene-by-scene breakdown goes like this:

Keep Reading

Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com

Britney Spears and Madonna's latest hookup has been temporarily derailed by a technical glitch.

Spears had been scheduled to begin shooting a video montage for Madonna's upcoming tour this morning at the Lots soundstage in Hollywood. But production insiders say that because the set was not finished in time, cameras will not roll until tomorrow.

The set features an elevator, in, around and on which Spears will dance.

"The video will be very deep," a source in the Spears camp tells E! News. "You've never seen Britney like this before. It will blow your mind."

Keep Reading