The daily gossip: Miley Cyrus and Kanye West are collaborating on a new song, and more

5 top pieces of celebrity gossip — from Matt Damon's defense of Batfleck to Charlie Sheen's quixotic quest for a half-man/half-otter in Alaska

Miley Cyrus
(Image credit: Rick Diamond/Getty Images for MTV)

1. Miley Cyrus and Kanye West are collaborating on a new song

How do you follow up a performance as controversial as Miley Cyrus' twerk routine at the Video Music Awards on Sunday? By teaming up with the other most controversial artist in recent VMA history: Kanye West. According to the New York Post, Cyrus skipped her own VMA party to join West in the studio to work with him on a remix of "Black Skinhead," in what a source described as a "top-secret collaboration." Except obviously it's not now. [New York Post]

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3. Charlie Sheen went looking for a half-man/half-otter hybrid in Alaska

Last month, Charlie Sheen's quest to find the Loch Ness monster resulted in failure. But in the face of adversity, Sheen doubled down on his cryptozoological quest by taking a trip to Alaska to track down a half-man/half-otter hybrid, because that's the kind of thing you get to do when you have way too much money. According to Sheen, the creature is called the Kushtaka, a "shape-shifting trickster" that "lures one away from the campsite with the mimicked sounds of a crying baby." Unfortunately, Sheen's hunt came up empty — perhaps because the beast sensed his tiger blood. [TMZ]

4. These are some people who might be in Star Wars: Episode VII

The fact that there's really not any news to report about Star Wars: Episode VII hasn't stopped any number of websites from breathlessly reporting on Star Wars: Episode VII. Today's example? A report from Latino Review alleging that I Am Number Four's Alex Pettyfer and Peter Pan's Rachel Hurd-Wood have auditioned for roles in the film. The report doesn't indicate what those alleged roles might entail, so feel free to speculate wildly. (We're putting our money on the secret love children of Princess Leia and Chewbacca.) [SlashFilm]

5. You can see a double feature of Star Trek Into Darkness and World War Z

Now that the summer blockbuster season is coming to a close, Paramount has an offer for you: A chance to see a double feature of Star Trek Into Darkness and World War Z, so you can be disappointed by two major blockbusters for the price of one. The deal begins at select theaters on Friday and will remain available until September 5. But our advice? Stay home and read Night of the Living Trekkies instead. [FirstShowing.net]

Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.