Michael Jackson’s tour will be a ‘Thriller’

If Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” tour at London’s O2 arena was as doomed as some reports would indicate, you’d think fewer people would want to have their names attached to the project.

According to reps who spoke to the L.A. Times, Usher choreographer Todd Samms is collaborating on the show, and Chris Brown choreography duo Rich and Tone Talauega were on hand during a recent casting call for dancers.

A person who is involved in the planning and execution of the tour disputes this. “Todd, Rich and Tone are all great artists in their own right who have amazing talents,” said the source. “But they aren’t involved in the production.”

“There is so little that anyone is allowed to say about the tour, it’s shrouded in secrecy,” says the source. “All I can say is anyone would want to be attached to this. There are some big things that will happen and amaze.”

As for the idea that Jackson isn’t going to be healthy enough to pull off the tour, the source says, “Michael is focused, dedicated, healthy beyond belief. All rumors that indicate the opposite are bullsh--. Michael wanted to rehearse seven days a week, even, and we had to talk him into rehearsing six days a week.”

Jackson’s tour, his first extended concert run in 12 years, begins July 8.

Pinkett-Smith: Not a Scientology school
The New Village Academy, a private elementary school Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith opened last year in Calabasas, Calif., uses L. Ron Hubbard's teaching methods — but Pinkett-Smith insists the school has no religious agenda.

“All I can say is it is not a Scientology school,” she told Ebony. “That is straight evil to think that I would bring families into that educational institution and then try to get them to convert into some religion.”

Maybe her own children are an easier sell. Willow and Jaden Smith do not attend their parents’ school, but continue to be home-schooled.

“I didn’t want my children around other privileged kids who felt entitled,” Pinkett-Smith said. “I didn’t want them to be around just one type of person.”

Rihanna sends Chris Brown birthday surprise
Chris Brown turned 20 on May 5, and Rihanna accidentally showered him in gifts.

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“One of Rihanna’s assistants accidentally gave him an expensive pair of sneakers and a watch that Rihanna had bought before they broke up,” a source told Us Weekly. “She no longer wanted to send them.”

Lindsay Lohan is her sister’s keeper
There’s growing concern that the Lohan family’s last best hope, daughter Ali, isn’t being supervised or educated properly for the sake of her career.

Slideshow: Celebrity Sightings Not so, Lohan family matriarch Dina says. Big sister Lindsay is Ali’s guiding light when it comes to navigating the showbiz industry and making smart fashion choices.

“Lindsay is a good person to have watch over Ali right now,” Dina told Life & Style. “Lindsay can show Ali the ropes. Ali’s out there working on her record and singing career.”

Ali has recently been photographed wearing some of Lindsay’s clothes, which is not cause for concern either, according to Dina. “Ali looks up to her sister, as every younger sister does. Lindsay is very stylish — a style icon.”

In between Lindsay’s rope-showing and her recording and singing career, Ali is finding time for her studies. “She is being home-schooled,” an insider told the magazine.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter: @ courtneyatmsnbc.