JOHN TRAVOLTA AND KELLY PRESTON SPEAK OUT ABOUT SON'S DEATH

John Travolta and Kelly Preston spoke out for the first time on Sunday (January 4th) since the Friday (January 2nd) death of their 16-year-old son Jett. In a statement posted on their official websites, the couple said, "We would like to extend our deepest and most heartfelt thanks to everyone who has sent their love and condolences. Jett was the most wonderful son that two parents could ever ask for and lit up the lives of everyone he encountered. We are heartbroken that our time with him was so brief. We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives."

They added, "We have received many messages of condolence from around the world and we want to thank everyone for their prayers and support. It has meant so much to us. It is a beautiful reminder of the inherent goodness in the human spirit that gives us hope for a brighter future."

Travolta's attorney Michael Ossi confirmed that Jett died while on vacation with his family in the Bahamas, and police spokeswoman Loretta Mackey told the Associated Press Friday (January 2nd) that he was declared dead after hitting his head on a bathtub.

Ossi said that Jett, who has a history of having seizures, went to his room on Thursday (January 1st) and was discovered by a nanny around 10 a.m. the next morning. He added that after the nanny called 911, Travolta tried to resuscitate his son. Ossi said, "He did mouth-to-mouth until they had to physically remove John to take Jett to the hospital."

Although there have been reports that Jett's parents did not medically treat their son's seizures because of their belief in Scientology, Ossi and Travolta's other lawyer Michael McDermott told TMZ.com that Jett had been taking a strong anti-seizure drug called Depakote for several years. Eventually, it began to lose effectiveness, and after consulting with neurosurgeons, Travolta and Preston stopped administering the drug.

An autopsy is expected to be conducted on Monday (January 5th).

WEEKEND MOVIE WRAP-UP

The family movie Marley & Me, an adaptation of the best-selling book that stars Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson as owners of a mischievous dog, finished at the top of the weekend box office for the second week in a row. With no new films opening in wide release, the rankings of the top seven pictures were the same as the previous weekend, and there were no movies making top 10 debuts.

Two World War Two-era movies opened in limited release: Defiance, starring Daniel Craig in the story of Jewish brothers who form a band of freedom fighters against the Nazis in Eastern Europe; and Good, in which Viggo Mortensen stars as a German academic who's gradually won over by the Nazis ahead of the war.

Looking back at 2008, domestic movie revenues totaled $9.63 billion, down just slightly from the $9.68 billion record set in 2007, AP reported, citing box office tracker Media By Numbers. Reflecting higher prices, the number of tickets sold fell more, 4.3 percent, to 1.35 billion.

THIS WEEKEND'S TOP TEN MOVIES -- JANUARY 2-4

Marley & Me, $24.1 million

Bedtime Stories, $20.3 million

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, $18.4 million

Valkyrie, $14 million

Yes Man, $13.9 million

Seven Pounds, $10 million

The Tale of Despereaux, $7 million

Doubt, $5 million

The Day the Earth Stood Still, $4.9 million

Slumdog Millionaire, $4.8 million

'DANCING WITH THE STARS' COUPLE ENGAGED

Dancing With the Stars pros Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff are engaged. People magazine confirmed that Chmerkovskiy proposed to his girlfriend in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve. They have been dating for less than six months.

A source told People magazine of the couple, "They are really cute together."

The couple is currently performing on the Dancing With the Stars winter tour, which is scheduled to conclude in February.

Smirnoff dated former contestant Mario Lopez for two years before calling it quits in 2008.

WILL SMITH DOMINANT IN 2008

Will Smith was voted the star that generated the most box office revenue in 2008 according to an annual survey conducted by Quigley Publishing Company. Smith's summer blockbuster Hancock reportedly fueled his top position, having grossed $228 million.

The rest of the list, in rank order, includes Robert Downey Jr., Christian Bale, Shia LaBeouf, Harrison Ford, Adam Sandler, Reese Witherspoon, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, and Daniel Craig.

According to the Associated Press, Smith is only the second African-American to top the list since it started in 1932, following Sidney Poitier who was number 1 in 1968.

JAMIE FOXX SAYS HIS OSCAR HAS BEEN A HURDLE FOR HIS RECORDING CAREER

Triple threat performer Jamie Foxx -- who counts comedy, an Oscar-winning acting career, and singing among his talents -- is currently promoting his third solo CD, Intuition. The project features contributions from Timbaland, C. "Tricky" Stewart, Terius "The Dream" Nash, T.I., Kanye West, Ne-Yo, Fabolous, Timbaland, Floetry's Marsha Ambrosius, T-Pain, and Lil Wayne.

But Foxx confesses that not everyone in the music industry was eager to collaborate with him. It seems that his success as an actor has led some to think that his recording efforts are simply a hobby. Foxx recently explained: "In working on music I've been trying to, like, break down preconceived thoughts of that this is just a hobby to me, or breaking down those walls of like, 'oh, he already has enough.' So that's been sort of like the blessed curse. People want to work with you but then sometimes people are like, you know, they don't take it serious until they hear the records and they see which direction that I'm going and then ... I think especially for the next record it'll be even easier to get people to feature on the record."

Foxx is currently on the chart with the single "Just Like Me" featuring T.I.

His next film to hit big screens is The Soloist opposite Robert Downey, Jr., for which Foxx had to learn to play the cello. The film opens nationally April 24th.

AUDIO: JAMIE FOXX ON FACING MUSICAL ROADBLOCKS 2

CELEBRITY GOSSIP

TOM CRUISE CREDITS SCIENTOLOGY WITH OVERCOMING DYSLEXIA: Tom Cruise says that Scientology helped him overcome dyslexia. In an interview published in XL Semanal, the weekly magazine supplement of daily Spanish newspaper ABC, Cruise revealed that he was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of seven. He said of his struggles with reading, "Nobody gave me a solution and I wanted to know why the system had failed. Finally, as an adult, I learned to read perfectly through the method of (Scientology's late founder) L. Ron Hubbard."

PREGNANT 'GOSSIP GIRL' STAR FILES FOR DIVORCE: Pregnant Gossip Girl star Kelly Rutherford filed for divorce on December 30th from her husband of two years, German entrepreneur Daniel Giersch. The 40-year-old actress recently announced that the couple was expecting their second child together in mid-2009. Son Hermes is two-years-old. Rutherford split from her first husband, Carlos Tarajano, in 2001 after five months of marriage.

TARA REID CHECKS OUT OF REHAB?: Tara Reid reportedly checked out of the Promises rehab Center in California on Saturday (January 3rd) after less than a month of treatment. Although a source told People magazine, "She's doing well. The whole family is very positive about this being the new beginning for her," publicist Jack Ketsoyan told E! News the report was untrue. Despite the actress's longtime classification as a party girl, 33-year-old Reid would not disclose what she was being treated for at the facility.

CHARGES DISMISSED AGAINST HEATHER LOCKLEAR: Heather Locklear's DUI charge stemming from a 2008 arrest was dismissed on January 2nd after the actress pleaded no contest to reckless driving. As part of her plea deal, Locklear was sentenced to three years informal probation, fined $700 and is required to complete a 12-hour DMV road and safety class. The 47-year-old, who was not present in court, was formally charged with driving under the influence of drugs in November 2008 following her September arrest.

ANGELICA HOUSTON'S HUSBAND DIES: Artist Robert Grahm, actress Anjelica Houston's husband, died on December 27th at the age of 70. ABC News reported that the world-renown sculptor died of an undisclosed illness at the Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center and Orthopeaedic Hospital. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement, "Robert was an amazing sculptor who forever shaped the presence of sculpture art throughout California and the world. His work was truly influential and he will forever remain an icon in this state." Houston and Grahm married in 1992.

SAM SHEPARD ARRESTED: Actor Sam Shepard was arrested Saturday (January 3rd) morning in Illinois on suspicion of DUI and speeding. TMZ.com reported that The Notebook actor responded to police requests that he pull over after they observed him going 46 miles per hour in a residential zone. Pantagraph.com added that the 65-year-old was recorded as having a .175 blood alcohol level, which is twice the legal limit. Shepard was put in cuffs on the scene and taken to the McLean County jail where he posted bond and was released pending a court appearance.

LINDSAY LOHAN AND GAL PAL BRAWL ON NEW YEAR'S EVE: The relationship between Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson has had a rocky start in 2009. The New York Post reported over the weekend that while in Miami for New Year's festivities, the couple "went nuclear" while hosting a party, taking their screaming match to a nearby alley where a witness said Lohan ordered her gal pal, "When I storm off, you are supposed to follow me!" The spy added, "Lindsay was really unstable and flipping out." The pair reportedly continued their fight in their hotel room, where crashing and screaming was heard until 11 a.m., when Ronson and Lohan began punching one another in front of observers. A rep for Lohan told the Post, "There was an argument -- I don't know the details -- but they left for LA together and it's fine."

PAT HINGLE DIES: Actor Pat Hingle died on Saturday (January 3rd) at the age of 84. Variety reported that the veteran actor, who had a recurring role as Commissioner Gordon in several Batman movies in the 1990s, succumbed to cancer. Hingle was a guest star in many television series, including Touched By an Angel, Homicide: Life on the Street, Murder She Wrote, War and Remembrance, In the Heat of the Night, Wings, Cheers and M*A*S*H.

INDUSTRY NEWS

BARBARA WALTERS INVERVIEWING PATRICK SWAYZE: Patrick Swayze sat down with Barbara Walters for his first television interview since being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year. The pair met up at the actor's ranch outside of Los Angeles for the piece, which will air Wednesday (January 7th) on ABC. PerezHilton.com quotes Walters as saying, "Everything about him (Swayze) impresses me: his courage, his humor. There's something very valiant about him... He's a fighter."

PAULA ABDUL PLANNING TALK SHOW?: Paula Abdul is reportedly planning to launch her own daytime talk show. The National Enquirer reports that Abdul has been in talks with CBS/Paramount Network television about developing the program, which could debut as early as next year. A source close to the American Idol judge said, "Paula's been dreaming about having her own talk show for three years, and she's ready to make it a reality." The source adds that Abdul is asking Idol executives to double her salary for the show's next season, and if they refuse to do so, she will put her talk show plan into motion immediately.

SLY STALLONE STILL DOING ACTION MOVIES: Sylvester Stallone penned a script for the action flick, The Expendables, which the New York Post reports he'll direct and star in with Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Forest Whitaker and Randy Couture. Ain't It Cool News, which got a look at the script, described the film as, "a movie where a team of five can take on an army of 100, where armed men still sometimes engage in martial arts and fisticuffs, where many, many things blow up."

BRAD PITT FILM GETS RELEASE DATE: Brad Pitt's upcoming World War Two film, Inglorious Basterds, will hit theaters on August 21st of this year, according to Variety. Pitt, his partner Angelina Jolie and their six children spent the latter part of 2008 living in Germany while the temporarily-mustached star filmed the thriller. Variety added that the movie's dialogue is mostly in French and German, however Pitt's character, a Tennessee hillbilly who puts together a team of Jewish-American soldiers to take on the Nazis, will speak English.

WILL SMITH DOMINANT IN 2008: Will Smith was voted the star that generated the most box office revenue in 2008 according to an annual survey conducted by Quigley Publishing Company. Smith's summer blockbuster Hancock reportedly fueled his top position, having grossed $228. The rest of the list, in rank order, includes Robert Downey Jr., Christian Bale, Shia LaBeouf, Harrison Ford, Adam Sandler, Reese Witherspoon, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie and Daniel Craig.

'DANCING WITH THE STARS' HOST WANTS HUGH JACKMAN ON SHOW: Dancing With the Stars host Samantha Harris would love to see upcoming Oscar host Hugh Jackman compete on the ABC hit reality show. When asked her ideal contestant for the program, Harris told People magazine, "Hugh Jackman, hands down." She added, "He's a song and dance man. He's a Broadway guy. He's got charisma and you know he can move." The show's eighth season will premiere in March while a cast announcement is expected in the coming weeks.

'LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY' GETS MAKEOVER: Live with Regis and Kelly planned to debut a new high-definition look and new theme song on this morning's (January 5th) broadcast. Producers told People magazine that hosts Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa will appear in a new opening segment that includes more New York City scenes. The new theme song was determined through a contest that received more than 3,000 submissions. Thirty-five-year-old Gabriel Saientz was the winner and described the tune as "a lively, happy theme song that goes with Regis and Kelly's personalities."

'GOSSIP GIRL' GETS BAD GIRL BACK: Michelle Trachtenberg will reprise her role on Gossip Girl as bad girl Georgina. Entertainment Weekly confirmed that the actress is set to return for multiple episodes in 2009. A source said that her first reappearance is expected at the end of the current season.