Live Wire

American Idol,Foxs nationwide election of a pop star,will start accepting online votes next week,the show announced on Thursday. The electronic ballots will be cast on AmericanIdol.com assisted by Facebook,which will act as a security mechanism,verifying the identities of viewers through a log-in process. Each viewer who logs in through Facebook will be allowed to vote 50 times during the weekly window after the broadcast. The addition of online voting is one of several major changes this year for Idol,now in its 10th season. As part of an overhaul the show has two new judges,Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez,and has made numerous format changes.

Helena Bonham Carter,the actress nominated for the Oscars for best supporting role in The Kingss Speech,is one of the many British screen luminaries with voice roles in the Oscar-nominated animated short film The Gruffalo,based on the childrens book of the same name by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Sheffler. The Gruffalo and its progeny,The Gruffalos Child,have been translated into 40 different languages . The film adaptation which also stars John Hurt,Tom Wilkinson,and others closely follows the books action,which tracks various attempts by woodland creatures to woo and devour a small mouse.

Anne Hathaway and James Franco,the hosts of this years Oscar,gave a joint interview to The Hollywood Reporter,in which they reveal a bit of their dynamic. Hathaway is a consummate professional,noting that she is the youngest host in Oscar history,that she doesnt plan on doing any biting jokes and rattling off information about Oscar shows that took place before she was born. Franco,much more laconic,mentions that he got hosting advice from Jon Stewart.Franco said he felt a little weird doing it because he didnt feel like he was exactly from that world.