Back to the Well

Jennifer Hudson’s getting back to where it all once began.

Yes, E! News has tweet-revealed that J. Hud has signed on to be a judge on TV’s Americal Idol next year.

The rumor mill has been turning with talk that the show was/is interested in featuring an all-star cast of previous contestants during the new season that is to come in the winter.

Original Idol Kelly Clarkson is the get for producers, of course, while Adam Lambert is also being courted for the gig.

Photo: AceShowbiz.com.

WHM Alert on Red

What ever happened to the sweet, smart, polite Amanda Bynes I met in Miami Beach five years ago I’ll quite likely never know, but this is for sure: colorful Amanda Bynes is not my cup of tea.

OK, I will admit her tweeting that she wanted “Drake to murder my vagina” was pretty funny.

Inspired even.

This latest chapter? Not at all.

The actress has gone out of her way out outdo Lindsay Lohan when it comes to antics, and her latest is a doozy: Getting arrested for pot possession – at her place of residence! – by New York City police. But not before throwing her bong out a window. Into the street.

She lives on a 36th floor.

That’s f---ing awesome crazy.

That’s reckless endangerment, for which she was booked, too (and for felony evidence tampering).

That’s the new Bynes (and this, at right, is her new look). And I don’t like it. This brand of acting out’s literally not cute anymore. Hasn’t been for a while.

Time to raise the Walking Hot Mess Alert to red, folks.

Hope Bynes gets the help she needs. She was arrested (check out her mug shot, yo) and taken for a psych eval, so maybe she finally is gonna.

Photo: People.com.

Nuit and Jour

Gwyneth Paltrow’s so (Hugo) Boss.

The GOOP master has been shilling the brand’s Boss Nuit Pour Femme fragrance since last summer, and she’s liked the gig so much, she’s doing it again. The actress has signed on to hawk the new Boss Jour Four Femme scent.

The perfume has top notes of grapefruit flower and lime, a heart of freesia, lily of the valley, and honeysuckle, and white birch and creamy amber at its base. Per the company, G.P. “embodies [multifaceted] hard work, femininity, and sophistication inspiration.” And thats why she was so perfect for the campaign.

Meanwhile, the World’s Most Beautiful Woman thinks this is one of the best gigs for her at this stage in her life and career.

“I can only really do one film a year now because of my family and how it all works out,” said Paltrow, of her taking the job, which includes a Guy Aroch-shot print campaign and a Jordan Scott- (daughter of Ridley) directed TV spot. “I have had a really good experience working for Boss, and I always say this, but it really is such a perfect job when you have kids.”

Aww, she’s doing it for her the children (not just the reported $2 million payday).

Photo: WWD.com.

Bruce Willis, You Are on Derivative Alert

C’mon, Bruce Willis – you are not Jason Statham.

The Looper star is taking a page from the sexy British mofo – whom I like, don’t get me wrong – to star in Expiration, a project that he’s being courted to begin shooting next spring.

Willis would play a hitman who has been injected with some poison and who must race against the clock to find himself an antidote to save himself.

Kicking lotsa butt along the way I bet.

Photo: meltyStyle.com.

Just Because, Pt. 91

Yo, Marvel – can you hurry up and cast Derek Theler in something?

Anything will do.

The breakout star of ABC Family’s Baby Daddy is clearly on brand.

And a total ham. Like, total (delicious-looking) ham.

Photo: listal.com.

The Boy Scouts Thank You, Madonna! (Not Really!)

It’s the vote some of America was waiting for with breath that was bated.

Today, delegates of the Boy Scouts of America voted in Texas to allow openly gay youth into the organization, effective next Jan. 1.

“No youth may be denied membership on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone,” the organization’s approved resolution says.

Point for equality! (Thank you, Madonna! No, I do not actually think her stunt at the GLAAD Media Awards in March did the trick.)

Alright, alright, alright, good ol’ US of A – next up: marriage equality and comprehensive immigration reform that includes your LGBT community and their loved ones.

You can do it.

Photo: AMNY.com.

Update: I forgot to mention that while the Boy Scouts said yes to gay youth joining in on the fun and learning how to make fires and stuff, they said no to openly gay adult leaders.

Which sends a decidedly mixed message and perpetuates a terrible stereotype.

IMHO.

Orion Griffiths Has the Moves

OMFG: Orion Griffiths needs to make the transition to Playgirl the screen ASAP.

Earlier this week, the – get ready for a bunch of Ps – pipin’-hot Pippin player was named the winner of something called the Broadway Beauty Pageant, which raised more than $50,000 for New York City’s largest LGBT homeless shelter, the Ali Forney Center.

Oh, Broadway...you are just much too kind sometimes.

Anyway, Griffiths (quite literally) rose above the competition by performing a sensationally sexy strip tease, and, holy smokes, does anybody have The CW’s number? How ’bout Marvel’s?

Like, seriously.

Photo: LGBT-Idea.com.

Adam Levine...Covered In Something. Oof!

I love Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine.

That badass mofo is not above giving us what we want.

He knows we like to ogle at his body, so puts it out there.

He’s done it plenty of times before in countless videos and magazines, and he’s doing it again in the video for the band’s new single, “Love Somebody,” in which his naked body is covered in special effects goo for our viewing pleasure (just go see for yourself).

He’s a good man that SoFine. I mean, that Levine.

Photo: Zimbio.com.

And In Gratuitous Scene Equality News...

The powers that be at Star Trek Into Darkness are big sillies.

I don’t mean to say they are as ridikolous as the folks who said the – Spoiler Alert? – scene in which Alice Eve disrobes in front of Chris Pine was sexist (I found it to be fun, actually, as it further cemented Kirk’s attraction for a new Enterprise crew member he already believed to be both hot and smart).

No. You should absolutely follow to understand that I completely mean that they are quite likely worse than those sillies, for they had a Benedict Cumberbatch shower scene in their hands – and they did not use it!

Like, WTF!

Evidently, J.J. Abrams was on Conan last night, sort of echoing and elaborating on the apology that writer-producer Damon Lindelof offered about the scene earlier this week, and he showed the Cumberbatch scene, and where is that scene online! (Here’s a piece of a it! Thank you, Internet. And ya welcome.)

This is gonna be one hot DVD extra. Like, this Cumberbitch just may scratch my eventual Star Trek Into Darkness from all the repeating I’ll be doing.

Photo: TheSun.co.uk.

Cher’s Been Busy...

That darling Cher has been teasing a musical comeback for quite a while now (Burlesque don’t count).

At least since last Thanksgiving.

But now girlfriend has gone and made it official: She is dropping a new single next month, and a new record in September.

That noise you hear is the sound of millions of gays rejoicing.

Photo: Idolator.com.

Family Vacation

Think American Sweetheart Jennifer Aniston has found the key to spicing things up: Jason Bateman Sudeikis.

L’Aniston did good for herself when she teamed up with the SNL star (and the Arrested Development straight man, actually) in Horrible Bosses, so it really isn’t so shocking that she’d rushed to recreate that magic.

And, OK, since she didn’t really have scenes with either Jason in that sleeper hit but with Charlie Day, I guess I should be clear and say we shouldn’t be shocked she was in a hurry to recreate the vein of that magic, which is why she signed on to star in We’re the Millers. With Sudeikis.

The actress plays the wife-and-MILF!mother-for-hire of a fake family put together for appearances by Sudeikis’ pot smuggler so he can transport 1,000 pounds of the drug across the Mexican border. Emma Roberts and Will Poulter play their fake kids.

The movie is opening on Aug. 9 – and here’s the NSFW red-band trailer, which features a heckuva lot of Aniston’s hot bod (dayum!):



As they say in español: Mamacita!

Lee Pace Gives Good Good...But Better Bad

Lee Pace wants to get with Marvel, and Marvel wants to get with Lee Pace.

The erstwhile star of TV’s Pushing Daisies had been up for the lead part of Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy that eventually went to Chris Pratt, right.

Part gone, you’re done. Thanks?

Not quite.

The studio and the actor kept in touch, and now it looks like Pace could be playing the alien Kree warrior Ronan the Accuser. Or The Collector. It’s not clear yet.

What is clear is that Zoë Saldana (Avatar, Star Trek Into Darkness) has said yes to like, her third franchise and will be playing Gamora.

So Guardians of the Galaxy has Pratt, Saldana, and director James Gunn all locked. Marvel’s Phase Two’s a-cookin’. 

Photo: YouKnowWhaaa.com.

Driver

I love Patrick Wilson.

Thing is I totally heart his looks – duh – but I am also into the guy as an actor. I think he’s a solid, solid player, and I am enjoying seeing him evolve on screen, both on film and TV (he better get nominated as a guest star for his turn on HBO’s Girls this past season; I just caught his ep again, and discovered even more nuance to his performance on second viewing, so...).

Anyway, the actor is going to share the screen with Chris Pine in Joe Carnahan’s Stretch, a comedic thriller centering on a down-on-his-luck chauffeur who drives around a mysterious billionaire to get rid of his debt.

The project sounds a lot like Caught Stealing, this little nugget that was announced last fall (funny enough, I suggested Pine for a very specific part in it back then).

So, yay. I hate regurgitating an item, but Wilson’s worth it. And since the movie’s still happening, it looks like folks in Hollywood think so, too.

Photo: PatrickWilson.Kimdir.com.

Going Ape

The Hunger Games’ Josh Hutcherson likes to scale back a bit, so when he does he goes indie for a bit.

The actor has this passion project, y’ see; it’s called Ape, and the psychological thriller is what he wants to do next. Produce it, star in it.

The project is described as “a dramatic tale of a young man’s struggle with mental illness, love, and a deep-rooted family secret.”

So meaty.

Hutcherson has been smartly dancing around his blockbuster franchise with smaller-key parts. For instance, he has been working on the Benicio Del Toro-as-Pablo Escobar film Paradise Lost.

Photo: CoolMensHair.com.

Chuck It to Broadway

Oh, Broadway – you better ready yourself for a bunch of nerds to descend upon ya.

I say this because their king, Zachary Levi, is getting ready to make his Great White Way debut in the romantic musical comedy First Date this summer, as a tightly wound fella set up with a serial dater.

Levi will share the stage with Smash’s Krysta Rodriguez when the Seattle-born show (winner of four Seattle Times Footlight Awards) begins previews on July 9 for an Aug. 8 opening.

From there, you can expect to see the erstwhile Chuck in Thor: The Dark World, as the new Fandral (he replaced Josh Dallas after the actor became unavailable due to his commitment to TV’s Once Upon a Time).

Photo: ZacharyLeviStar.blogspot.com.

The Informant

That fine wine in the making known as Zac Efron is reeling in his efforts to grow up.

On screen, that is – at least a little bit (since The Paperboy didn’t quite work the way he was probably hoping it would).

So the actor is going to play the titular Narc in this new movie about a frat house president – another one! – and lacrosse team captain who starts helping the police bust criminals after he is arrested for possession with intention to sell.

See, this way, Efron can attract his core audience while stretching himself, showing some range.

Clever young man. Hot clever young man.

Photo: PatiSallves.wordpress.com.

Readying for the Star Wars?

J.J. Abrams just opened Star Trek Into Darkness, but the rumor mill is already oh-so-focused on his next foray into space, Star Wars: Episode VII.

Let’s see, Abrams reportedly already hired Michael Kaplan to do the costumes (Kaplan outfitted Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto & Co. in both of Abrams’ Star Treks), and, now, he may be looking at an old repertoire player of his for an unspecified part in the forthcoming foray to a galaxy far, far away.

And who’s the lucky guy?

My, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, one of the stars of the director’s Mission: Impossible III.

But the actor’s supposed to be keeping busy with NBC’s new show Dracula!

Mmm...maybe not. The Peacock was quite hot on the project, but it only ordered 13 episodes for next season, if I remember my trade reading right.

So the Brit could very well be free to partake in the production, especially since Episode VII isn’t due out until 2015.

Guess we shall see what shakes.

Photo: AllWomensTalk.com.

B’s a Big Girl Now

No, it’s not Beyoncé Week up in here, but here I go again with some news about Queen B.

Whaddya want – she’s making me nostalgic and keeping busy, which allows me not to speculate on whether she’s having another boo.

Yes, this one’s about her music.

There’s a new Beyoncé song making the rounds online. It’s called “Grown Woman.” And I listen to it and I think: Brazil.

My South American neighbors have a FIFA World Cup coming up next summer, and an Olympiad in 2016. But first things first: I think this “Grown Woman” track should be considered as B’s official audition to sing the theme song of the soccer tournament. I am getting a major tropical-party vibe from it, and it would be a major goal, not to mention hella fun, to see Beyoncé experiment with all the musical flavors that can be found this side of America.

Brazil would be a perfect place to start, IMHO.

Photo: Starcasm.net.

Update 1: Since whatever was streaming on the link provided above was deemed a leak, herewith is an official version of the song, from a proper SoundCloud.

And I am singing. Hey – I’m a grown woman. I can do whatever I wawnt!

Update 2: Whoa. Guess B’s camp doesn’t we’re ready for that jelly.

R.I.P. Zach Sobiech

Zach Sobiech wants you to know he was “a kid who went down fighting.” More than that, he was a kid who knew how to live.

Now, I don’t often blog about real people – you know what I mean. But Zach’s story is just too awesome not to share.

Zach was an 18-year-old boy from Minnesota who lost his battle with cancer yesterday. Lest you think it so, his was anything but a sob story but rather, a celebration of life pretty much from the moment he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma when he was 14.

From that second on, Zach lived the rest of his life just like had lived it all along: joyfully and going for it, realizing as many of his dreams as possible, and always trying “to make people happy.”

“It’s really simple, actually,” he says in this 22-minute short I just watched, My Last Days: Meet Zach Sobiech. “Just try to make people happy.”

Zach did that by being the best son, brother, friend, boyfriend, and fighter he could be, and through his music. Part of his legacy the world is fortunate to share in thanks to the aforementioned film, and through a song (one of many) he wrote to express himself and cope with his condition. This song is called “Clouds,” and it is a good one – listen up, Grammy folks! – and an inspiring one.

Just like Zach.

His zest for life caught the attention of some famous people including Bryan Cranston, Sarah Silverman, Rachel Bilson, Sarah Bareilles, Jason, Mraz, Anna Faris and Chris Pratt, and the cast of The Office, all of whom were among the Hollywood folk who paid tribute to Zach via video.

If you wanna help Zach realize his wish to make people happy, especially children with cancer, stand up to cancer any way you can...or give to the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund. 

Photo: People.com.

Seeking an Answer at the End of the Desert

Word from Cannes is Garrett Hedlund is heading to Mojave.

The Country Strong scene-stealer has signed on to star opposite Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis) in Oscar-winning screenwriter William Monahan’s forthcoming indie psychological thriller.

Hedlund will play a suicidal artist who journeys into the desert to sort himself out and runs into his equally messed up (and dangerous) doppelgänger (Isaac) instead.

Last time I checked, btw, The Great Gatsby’s Jason Clarke was also on board and set to play a bad guy in the film.

Photo: Zimbio.com.

Surfer Up

Aurora Rising time for Liam Hemsworth.

The Australian young’un is going to play a SoCal surfer-cum-military fighter pilot in this action movie about an elite team working to resolve a quickly escalating conflict abroad.

Mmm...surf scenes. Shirtless scenes.

Sorry, I got distracted there for a moment (it was a good thing).

Up next for Hemsworth is the thriller Paranoia coming out in August and then, of course, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Photo: Sugarscape.com.