A few days after the encroaching swine flu crisis bumped History's Unluckiest Film Wolverine from its rightful summer-opening glory in Mexico, another studio has taken precautions to steer clear of pandemic ground zero.
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We've already learned how Sacha Baron Cohen tricked politician Ron Paul into a bedroom encounter for his upcoming Bruno -- now, it's time for Paula Abdul to spill on how she fell for Cohen's charms (and what sort of gardener-abusing activities we may see her partake in when the film comes out July 10).
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· Ugly Betty is losing her braces, the show's creator tells EW. First Susan Boyle, now this!
· By the by, Jeff Wells has a friend who's heard that EW might soon merge with People.
· Disney is going to buy 30% of Hulu. That's great, but we kind of like ABC.com's video player (which lets you call up, say, every episode of Lost) better than Hulu's (which only lets you watch the last five episodes of most currently-airing shows).
· Tyra's dapper stalker has been convicted.
· Us Weekly would like you to know that LeAnn Rimes and her possibly estranged husband Dean Sheremet made out in a Mexican restaurant. The magazine then accompanied this news with a slideshow entitled, "See the grossest celeb kisses of all time." Burn.
Circumventing the typical self-outing route of a People magazine cover, an appearance on Ellen (though that may be forthcoming), a Grand Marshal appointment to the West Hollywood Gay Pride parade, and, finally, a ten-minute stand-up slot opening the True Colors Tour, '80s screen siren Kelly McGillis has quietly and coolly admitted to a video blogger at shewired.com that she's ready to live openly as a lesbian.
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· Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rainn Wilson have signed on for Hesher, an indie dramedy produced by and costarring Natalie Portman. Here's the plot: Gordon-Levitt is a twentysomething loser who befriends TJ, a 13-year-old boy who lives with his grandmother after his mom dies and his father (Wilson) becomes a prescription drug addict. Portman plays a dreamy grocery store worker who probably doesn't hook up with any of these messes. [THR]
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If you're among the many who still seem to think the film industry is recession-proof, you might consider having a word with the gang at Village Roadshow Pictures. But don't call the production company's headquarters; the phone service might have been turned off by now, and anyway, they're likely out making the pawn-shop rounds to help raise more than $120 million they owe Time Warner.
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From George Lucas's excessive tinkering to its sputtering theatrical continuations, few Hollywood properties have been driven into the ground as obsessively and destructively as Star Wars. But every now and then its creator's self-seriousness abates, and we're all reminded that it's actually OK to have fun with the Force. We have Disney to thank for the latest, all-too-rare return to roots, summarized in four new posters for its forthcoming Star Wars Weekends in Orlando.
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In 2007, the last time Eric Bana attended the Tribeca Film Festival, the actor had just experienced a kind of death in the family. Bana arrived in New York mere days afterward, fairly numb to his loss, even cracking jokes about it in his hotel room before hitting the premiere of his film Lucky You. But the wounded eyes said more than his sarcasm, especially when he commented about wanting to wear his auto-racing shoes on the red carpet. Then it hit Bana: What was he doing here when he had just killed his one of his oldest friends?
· Pictured, doting dad Brad Pitt rushes to protect the newest addition to the ever-growing Pitt-Jolie clan from the elements. He's great about changing giant diapers, too.
· Diane and the whole GMA gang pulled a prank on Matthew McConaughey this morning, hiding out somewhere as he wandered around the abandoned set on live morning TV. McConaughey finally gave up, took off his shirt, and started playing some sweet tribal beats on the coffee table.
· Tyra's stalker is the dapperest stalker I've ever seen. You go, girl! My stalker had Dippin' Dots and staples in his hair.
· Chris Brown's attorney Mark Geragos, of powerful Hollywood law firm Anderson Bruford Wakeman & Howe, is seeking to dismiss his assault case altogether. He points towards the leak of police photos of Rihanna as the reason.
· Lane Garrison, the Prison Break actor who killed a Beverly Hills High student after a DUI crash of his Range Rover in 2006, has been released on parole, having served 18 months of his 36 months sentence.
Confirming a widely held suspicion circulating round these parts since the days when pterodactyls flapped around the site of the future Century City, Viacom head Sumner Redstone admitted to his own immortality before a crowded Beverly Hilton conference room today. The stunned onlookers, attendees of the Milken Institute Global Conference, instantly started plugging "SUMNER WILL NOT DIE" into their BlackBerrys as Redstone continued.
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When Steven Soderbergh cast real-life porn star Sasha Grey in The Girlfriend Experience, industry wags expected a little more onscreen sex than they ended up getting. So what drew the director to Grey if it wasn't her willingness to get nude? As he explains to the Guardian, he was intrigued by the lack of actor-ly affect that can only be won through a career where "preparing for your close-up" means a whole different thing:
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It's been almost a decade since director Robert Zemeckis forsook live action for the weird, dead-eyed world of motion capture performance, but recent comments indicate he may be using his newest toys to resurrect some of his oldest creations. "I'll tell you what is buzzing around in my head now that we have the ability--the digital tools, performance capture--I'm starting to think about Roger Rabbit," he told MTV. Naturally, our heads filled with wild speculation and even wilder dress dimensions: if Zemeckis is implying the possibility of a motion-captured Roger Rabbit sequel, who in Hollywood could apply mocap dots to her bosom to play Jessica Rabbit?
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· Above, witness the Goonies reassembled for Steven Spielberg's special guest-edited issue of Empire. Josh Brolin is just happy he can finally show up that punk Sean Astin at Goonie reunions.
· Not reuniting: Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn, who are getting divorced (for realsies, this time).
· King of Kong hero Steve Wiebe has set the new record in Donkey Kong Jr. At this pace, he'll get to Super Mario Bros. in roughly three decades.
· Sex and the City costume designer Pat Field is happy that Sarah Jessica Parker is expecting twins, but happier still that some other lady's waistline is the problem.
· Lost celebrates its 100th episode tonight with a Jeremy Davies-centric episode, which is basically your editor's dream come true. Is it too much to hope that he flashbacks to his gay hustler days on Melrose Place?
Dreamworks Animation kingpin Jeffrey Katzenberg has extended his contract through 2013, news just about anyone could have predicted before its confirmation late Tuesday. Less clear: What he stands to gain from that contract, with its $1 annual salary and heavy, ambitious dependency on developments to come.
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All right, guys, your wanton Wolverine piracy has left Fox with no other choice: the studio is now assuring moviegoers that every print of the X-Men prequel will be attended by a different girlfriend of Mel Gibson's. Last night at an industry screening of Wolverine, Gibson debuted main squeeze Oksana Grigorieva -- a girlfriend whose mutant power is a beauty so strong, it can circumvent most Catholic bylaws. Oh, wait...spoiler alert?
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