Cheyenne to Get His Rock Off?

By the Hammer of Thor!

This is potentially great news (not to mention arousing): Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson may be joining the cast of TV’s 30 Rock as a regular or semi-regular this season.

NBC wouldn’t comment on the matter, simply telling my BFF Ted Casablanca over at E! Online that, “Unfortunately, at this time, the show is not commenting on any castings. Sorry about that.”

Tina Fey, you have got to make this happen!

Photo: InsideSoCal.com.

What’s Your Damage, Reiko?

24 alumna Reiko Aylesworth is leaving the beaches of Hawaii (and her stint on TV’s Lost?) and moving her fine self to the streets of New York, for she will go to work on the third season of F/X’s Damages.

Details about Aylesworth’s recurring character are being kept under wraps, natch, so I guess we’ll have to wait until January to see if she’s friend or foe to Glenn Close’s Patty Hewes.

The actress joins a third-season cast that also includes new series regulars Campbell Scott and Martin Short, as well as special guest stars Lily Tomlin and Keith Carradine.

Photo: Celebs101.com.

From Broadway to the Ring

I think Hugh Jackman wants us to know he’s the hardest-working man in showbiz.

Not only is he brighting up the Great White Way with Daniel Craig these days, but now he’s in negotiations to star in – Shirtlessness Alert! – the boxing film Real Steel. Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum) is on board to direct.

Jackman would play a former fighter who earns his keep as a promoter of Robot Boxing after the human version of the sport is outlawed.

No word on whether he’d take on the project before or after the contemporary musical The Greatest Showman on Earth.

Photo: ShowHype.com.

New Show, Same Bitch

Heather Locklear hiked up her skirt and reported to the set of The CW’s Melrose Place yesterday.

And you know how much that thrills me.

Seeing Sydney & Co. in the reboot has been great, but it’s all about seeing Amanda Woodward on Nov. 17 now.

Photo: People.com.

Party with the Smiths

One of Hollywood’s power couples, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, is set to co-host the 16th annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert on Dec. 11 in Norway.

Wyclef Jean, Toby Keith, and Donna Summer will be among the featured performers at the concert. More names will be added in the coming weeks.

Said the Smiths in a statement, “The opportunity to recognize the laureate’s contributions to the world peace movement will be an awe-inspiring experience. We are both humbled and honored to take part in the Nobel Peace Prize Concert this year, and look forward to sharing the historic evening with artists and humanitarians from across the globe.”

You know who will not be there?

Me. And that makes me sad.

Photo: Yahoo! Movies.

You’re Not Dismissed, Jenny

Kevin Zegers is giving ’em som'in’ to talk about....

The Transamerica star will be joining the cast of Gossip Girl for a multi-episode arc this season.

Zegers is set to play Damien, an international bad-boy love interest to Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen).

I cannot wait to see if I “XOXO” this story line or not.

Photo: NewNowNext.com.

Miley and Sex?

There’s a rumor floating around the blogosphere that Miley Cyrus may cameo in the Sex and the City sequel that’s making me agog in all the wrong ways.

The studio has issued a “no comment” to the news that I am hoping will turn into a “not happening.”

The tween princess would have a run-in with Kim Cattrall’s Samantha...but I’d rather Samantha ran into someone, anyone else.

Yes, Cyrus did well on the Divas show that I don’t mind her anymore, but that doesn’t mean I want to see her in one of the most anticipated movies of next year.

Photo: GossipTeen.com.

I Want to Die Happy

Goody goody gum drops!

People like to say that it isn’t so much about quantity but about quality – but people who say so say so just about anything.

And clearly, those people hadn’t quite anticipated or even known to anticipate Madonna’s Celebration, the Queen of Pop’s third album of greatest hits, which is out today.

Filled with almost 40 of the best of from M’s decades-spanning, hits-filled career, covering everything from “Like a Virgin” to “4 Minutes,” Celebration also includes two new tracks, “Celebration” and “Revolver”, featuring Lil Wayne, that are an acquired taste (the latter more so than the former, though).

An iTunes premium version of the album includes a bonus third new track called “It’s So Cool” that I really like.

And now, time to shop!

Photo: Moeys.net.

Keeping Wedding Crashers at Bay

Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy are said to have pulled a fast: The couple tied the knot in a quiet ceremony in France a few weeks ago, according to a source who attended the ceremony.

Well, their goes their invite to anything else.

Best wishes and congratulations. And good going on making an honest man outta that oh-so-cute man, Danes.

P.S.: This is how you do it...when you are not a Kardashian.

Photo: BittenAndBound.com.

Update: My Name Is Earl’s Jaime Pressly also got married. On Saturday.

Falling on Their Heads Like a Memory

I saw A Steady Rain on Broadway last night....

Correction: I loved A Steady Rain on Broadway last night – and not just because of the obvious reasons (Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman).

The play, about two Chicago cops recounting (quite differently) the events of a life-changing night of pouring rain, opens on Sept. 29. It will run for 12 weeks, so if you get the chance, get!

Photo: JustJared.BuzzNet.com. 

Update: Nothing like this happened during the performance I attended.

Although, that would have been hot.

Simply Irresistible, Pt. 59

Hugh Jackman, whom I will see perform A Steady Rain tomorrow on Broadway, was spotted hailing a cab in the West Village yesterday.

WTF was I doing in lower Chelsea trying to shop, having lunch with friends.

Urgh.

Photo: People.com.

Kylie Hearts Madonna

Kylie Minogue has released a self-penned set list for her upcoming “Kylie USA 2009 Tour,” and just as she promised, it includes plenty of fan favorites.

Set to be performed are “In My Arms,” “Slow,” and “Locomotion,” natch, among others.

Also among Ms. Minogue selections? Madonna’s “Burning Up” and “Vogue.”

Aww...the Aussie pop princess gives props to the Queen.

The six-city “Kylie USA 2009 Tour” kicks off on Sept. 30 in Oakland, Calif.

Photo: ShoppingBlog.com.

Update 1: Check out the sketches of the costumes Jean Paul Gaultier is readying for La Minogue.

Something fierce this way comes!

Update 2: Now see Kylie rehearse:

Great Idea, Natalie Imbruglia!

Calling Chris Martin is something I wish Madonna would do, already, but you can’t always get you want because you get what you need, and I guess what the world needs now is more Natalie Imbruglia.

The Aussie songstress and the Coldplayer have collaborated on three tracks for her upcoming album, Come to Life, out on Oct. 12.

The work they produced is oh-so-good, and Martin reportedly regrets giving Imbruglia one of the tracks (“Fun”). He like, so wishes he’d kept it for a future Coldplay album.

“A bit annoyingly we’ve given her the best Coldplay song of all time,” Martin joked to an Australian newspaper last spring. “But because we’re off-cycle we can’t do it ourselves. Half of me wishes we still had it. But she sounds f---ing brilliant on it. I think she has a very unique talent and an incredibly unique voice.”

I’m listening the track as I type this...and I’m totally loving it. It definitely sounds quite Coldplay, but Imbruglia does sing it beautifully.

And I’m completely liking the album’s lead single, “Want.” I can’t wait to hear more.

Photo: PopJustice.com.

The List, Pt. 4

In: Jude Law, the Broadway star.

So Five Minutes Ago: Jude Law, the baby-daddy.

O-V-E-R: Jude Law, the (alleged) paparazzi-fighter.

Photo: ThisIsLondon.co.uk.

Promise Not to Miss It This Time

So last week, four out of the five Spice Girls – all but Posh – got together to have dinner, right.

Faster than you could think it, the press started speculating that another reunion may be in the works.

While Ginger (Geri Halliwell) has confirmed that the girls are, indeed, working on something, Scary Spice (Mel B) tweeted today that it’s not what people are guessing...that it’s not a gig at the World Cup.

“World cup! wow the press are soo silly no I am not getting the girls together for the world cup!!!” she said. “We are getting together for other reasons!”

Well, whatever it is, please include Miami this time around, OK.

Photo: DailyMail.co.uk.

He’ll Super-Poke Ya

Justin Timberlake will play one of the leads in The Social Network (a.k.a. “the Facebook movie”), a drama written by Aaron Sorkin.

Adventureland’s Jesse Eisenberg will play Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, while Timberlake will take on the role of Sean Parker, the co-founder of Napster who became Facebook’s first president.

I wonder if like, he’ll start friending people for research or something.

Andrew Garfield (Lions for Lambs) will play Eduardo Saverin, the co-founder of the company who fell out with Zuckerberg over money.

Photo: Examiner.com.

Paging Dr. Grey’s...Baby

So while I was on my way to New York, Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo and her husband, Chris Ivery, were announcing the birth of their daughter, Stella Luna Pompeo Ivery, born on Sept. 15 in Los Angeles.

Congratulations!

Now, don’t let it happen again, this whole happening-while-I’m-unplugged thing.

Photo: HollywoodDame.com.

Update: In other Hollywood-baby news, Jude Law also welcomed a bundle of joy, his fourth (a girl named Sophia), recently, on Sept. 22, actually.

This better not mean he’ll take the night off and not perform Hamlet on Broadway tonight.... A couple of friends got us tickets, and we will all be very disappointed if we have to watch an understudy, whom I’m sure rocks, for more than three hours.

And by that I mean me. (Although, yes, a baby is a fine reason to pull a Lauren Graham, I s’ppose.)

A Little One for the Slayer

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. are the proud parents of a baby girl.

The couple “welcomed their daughter Charlotte Grace Prinze on Sept. 19,” said a Gellar rep. “The family is over the moon.”

I bet they are. I mean, I was over the moon after reading the news!

Photo: Babble.com.

Ready to Tease

Twilight hot stuff Cam Gigandet is ready for his close-up in his first musical.

“I’m shooting a movie called Burlesque with Christina Aguilera, [who’s making] her acting debut,” Gigandet recently told MTV. “And Cher.”

Production on Burlesque, which was announced over the summer, is set to begin rolling in December, and Gigandet sounds excited about it.

“It’s about a girl from the Midwest who moves out to Los Angeles to pursue her career as a singer,” he said. “Obviously, it’s Christina Aguilera, so she has an amazing voice. She finds a club run by Cher, a burlesque club. And she takes it to a whole new level and, of course, meets me – the love of her life.”

The actor will play a struggling piano player working as a bartender at Cher’s burlesque club. But will he sing with Aguilera?

“Oh right, a duet with me and Christina?” he said laughing. “That would be like Kermit the Frog and Christina. I can’t sing.”

But obviously, you could look hot trying, Cam.

Photo: GossipTeen.com.

Update: Stanley Tucci also has joined Burlesque, which actually will start shooting on Nov. 9 for a Thanksgiving 2010 release.

Gird Your Loins!

It was the headline The CW had been dying to write: “The bitch is back!”

The network confirmed today that Heather Locklear will appear as Amanda Woodward on its struggling-ish reboot of Melrose Place on Nov. 17.

“We’re ecstatic to have the chance to bring her back to Melrose Place,” said executive producers Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer.

“Heather’s involvement in the show is something we’ve been working on for some time as we couldn’t imagine creating and producing this show without [her] iconic character’s inclusion.”

Locklear joined the original Melrose Place toward the end of its first season as a “special guest star,” a.k.a. a last-ditch effort to hike up the ratings (surely her hiked-up hemlines had something to do with that).

Since the actress still looks quite banging, something tells me this will be a case of a little bit of history repeated.

Photo: AuFeminin.com.

Update: Word on the street is Heather Locklear will play Ella’s (Katie Cassidy) boss at the PR firm where she works.

I can’t wait to see Amanda school that little wannabitch but good.

More Glee? Yes Please!

TV is not dead – in fact, it’s quite Gleeful.

Fox has picked up Glee for a full season.

The musi-com originally had received a 13-episode order from the network, but after seeing the show perform solidly, Fox decided to pick up its back-nine option and bring the total number of first-season episodes to a full 22.

They said they wouldn’t stop believin’ – and it worked.

Bring on the more Matthew Morrison & Co.!

Photo: TimeOutNY.com.

Update: I cannot wait to see the Sept. 30 episode of Glee now that I know it’ll feature Emmy winner Kristen Chenoweth as a glee-club alumna – and a rousing rendition of Queen’s “Somebody to Love.”

Deep Inside

Last May, Adrian Pasdar of TV’s Heroes arrived on South Beach to perform with Band From TV (a charity cover band that also features co-star Greg Grunberg, Desperate Housewives’ Teri Hatcher and James Denton, super-cutie patootie Jesse Spencer from House and former Bachelor Bob Guiney) at the Shore Club.

In an interview for Miami Living’s August issue out now, Pasdar revealed to me that he would be very much a part of Heroes’ fourth season premiering tonight, especially now that he is taking on more than just one character.

Ish.

(Last season, Pasdar’s character, Nathan, died, in an all-out fight with Sylar, the badass played by Zachary Quinto, who was then mind-tricked into Nathan’s body and made to believe he is Nathan.)

“It’s going to be a tug of war between my character and Zach’s,” Pasdar said. “I can’t say much about it, but it’s really dynamic how they’re writing the storyline. At times it’ll be more Nathan, and other times it’ll be more Sylar. It’s about control and the duality of mankind – good and evil. That sort of thing.

“It’s a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde kinda thing.”

Sounds good, does it not?

I mean, anything that keeps Pasdar on TV will do in my book.

Photo: NBC.com.

Like a Fine, Fine, Fine Wine…

I have absolutely no plans to watch NCIS: Los Angeles, starring Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J – but I don’t have any plans to change the channel should I stumble on the show premiering tonight.

The reason: O’Donnell, who’s aging remarkably well.

Boyfriend was looking bettah than evah at last night’s Emmys….

Photo: GettyImages.com.

Uncle Dearest

Desmond Harrington, a.k.a., Jack Bass, Chuck’s handsome, if sketchy uncle on TV’s Gossip Girl, is headed back to the Upper East Side later this season.

“I will be back this year,” the actor said. “I think it’s episode 15 or 16 where I show back up. It’s fun playing Uncle Jack. He’s evil.”

Last we saw Jack, he tried to attack Lily van der Woodsen (Kelly Rutherford), who had taken over Bass Industries for Chuck. Jack was then sent packing back to Australia with a sore jaw after being punched by Chuck.

Photo: ComicBookResources.com.

Emmys Rock, Get Mad – Again

The 61st Annual Emmys Awards offered up a few surprises when all the envelopes were opened – but not in the biggest categories of them all.

Once again, defending champs 30 Rock was named Best Comedy (yay!), while Mad Men picked up the award for Best Drama.

In her acceptance speech, 30 Rock mastermind Tina Fey thanked NBC for keeping the show on the air, even though, it’s more expensive than a talk show (yeah, she means you and your big bag of taking time off primetime, Jay Leno).

For a complete list of winners, click here, but know that I was thrilled to see Michael Emerson, a.k.a. Lost’s duplicitous Ben, win in the best supporting actor in a drama category.

Photo: NYDailyNews.com.

Simply Irresistible, Pt. 58

As expected, last night’s Emmy Awards red carpet was a glamour extravaganza, but if asked I’d say my pick for best dressed would be Mad Men’s January Jones (pictured at right), whose Atelier Versace dress was giving serious Deco.

A close second would be Ginnifer Goodwin (HBO’s Big Love), simply adorable in purple YSL dress (loving her new pixie haircut, too).

I also loved Rose Byrne’s (F/X’s Damages) eye-catching Valentino gown, and Blake Lively’s (TV’s Gossip Girl) oh-so-if-you-got-it-flaunt-it red Versace, and Drew Barrymore’s romantic Monique Lhuillier.

And kudos to Heidi Klum for showing everyone that just because you’re in your third trimester you should compromise and be anything less than stunning (natch, in form-fitting Marchesa).

Photo: Zimbio.com.

Here Comes the (Sex-y) Bride?

Another day, another Sex and the City sequel production puzzle.

Kim Cattrall, a.k.a. Samantha Jones, was spotted on set wearing a wedding dress!

Could this guy have something to do with that?

Photo: UsMagazine.com.

Yet Another M Song to Have a Celebration to…

What a way to cap off a week that saw the release of “Revolver,” Madonna’s second single off her Celebration, out on Sept. 29.

Y’ know, the one I kinda liked and now love (I think more out of obligation, but ask me again next week after heavy weekend rotation).

Anyway, today marked the leak of “It’s So Cool,” another unreleased M song the Queen of Pop will include in the premium version of her third greatest hits album on iTunes.



This one I’m liking right off the bat.

One Movie in the Name of Love

How do you guarantee a hit movie these days?

You take a winning concept (that would be the tried and true rom-com, natch), you ask Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman) to direct, you cast America’s Sweetheart (Julia Roberts, Duplicity notwithstanding), not to mention virtually everyone else in Hollywood – really...the cast includes Bradley Cooper, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel, Anne Hathaway, Patrick Dempsey, Topher Grace, Emma Roberts, Eric Dane, Jamie Foxx and Queen Latifah, Shirley MacLaine, Jessica Alba, George Lopez, Jennifer Garner, and Taylors Lautner and Swift, among others – you mix but good, and you serve.

Oh, and you call it Valentine’s Day and you open it in February (2010).

The proof is in the trailer:

The Bumbling Insider

Director Steven Soderbergh, well…OK, the trailer for his latest, The Informant!, would have you believe that the movie is a non-stop hoot and a half.

It’s not.

Matt Damon packed on the pudge to play Mark Whitacre, the star of this story, based on a tattle-tale, about a whistleblower at an agri-industry giant. (Whitacre was, in fact, the highest-ranking corporate whistleblower in U.S. history.)

Too bad for Damon that his award-baiting commitment to the movie (exemplified by the 30 lbs. that cover his hot Jason Bourneness) probably will be overlooked by audiences since The Informant! is the sleepiest movie I’ve seen in a while, one that only wakes up in its last 30 minutes.

Seriously, whomever cut the trailer did the movie a tremendous disservice because what is promised and what is delivered are two very different things. Having said that, though, Damon’s phenomenal.

His character’s a deceiving mofo, and anyone who saw The Talented Mr. Ripley knows that the actor can pull off that quality phenomenally. This time around, comedy’s been added to the mix, so Damon shines. But, he wasn’t quite enough to reconcile the fact that the expectation I had for this movie was hardly met. Yes, this is a movie for grown-ups, as he recently told Letterman. Hearing him say that I couldn’t help but wonder if he knew something is not gelling with the movie….

But, anyway, if you decide to go see The Informant!, know that it’s about a man, a rising star at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), who suddenly turns whistleblower.

That even as he exposes the company’s multi-national price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI, he envisions himself being hailed as a hero and handed a promotion. And that before any of that can actually happen, the FBI needs evidence, so he agrees to wear a wire and carry a hidden tape recorder in his briefcase, imagining himself as a kind of de facto secret agent.

“[I’m] Mark Whitacre, secret agent. 0014,” he says with the straightest of faces. “Because I’m twice as smart as 007.”

Not!

Indeed, he isn’t, which is unfortunate for the FBI, especially once they learn that their main witness hasn’t been quite so forthcoming about helping himself to the corporate coffers.

Part of the fun of the movie is that you never know when Whitacre’s lying or telling the truth.

Too bad I wasn’t laughing.

My Rating **1/2

Photo: Warner Bros.

Chelsea Rules!

One day, Chelsea Handler’s going to host The Tonight Show – mark my words.

If she can rock it out on Chelsea Lately, her little E! show that could, she’ll be on primetime in no time.

I mean, she’s even booked Jennifer Aniston for cryin’ out loud.

The List, Pt. 3

In: Tom Ford, the filmmaker.

So Five Minutes Ago: Tom Ford, the stud.

O-V-E-R: Tom Ford, the designer.

Photo: 39thAndBroadway.com.

Maneater

Transformers star Megan Fox has worked hard at making us see her as an unapologetically sexual being – it puts a pep in her step, you know, because she knows and understand that, at this stage in her career, she’s expected to be one.

In the Diablo Cody-written horror-com Jennifer’s Body Fox arguably has found the perfect vehicle to showcase this image.

What shame it is, then, that the movie is so uneven.

Part horror movie, part comedy, Jennifer’s Body left quite a bit to be desired. Cody spoiled us with her hyper-aware and hyper-clever Academy Award-winning script for Juno, so I thought it was hyper-disappointing that this, her follow-up directed by Karyn Kusama (Girlfight, Aeon Flux), wasn’t more quip-happy.

Don’t get me wrong – the movie has its quotes, but they don’t get as pile-high as the body count (which is not that high, either). Also, I thought that, tonally, the movie kinda sorta missed the mark a little bit.

Sidebar: The limited audience with whom I saw Jennifer’s Body earlier this week was a bit of a wet blanket. It made me wonder whether this is a movie that needs to be seen in a more rapturous, fuller theater, or if the crowd simply reflected the low energy on screen.

I thought the movie had its spooks and thrills, most of which were old school (like, a door bell rings – or was it a knock? – and our heroine goes to check…but there’s no one there), and that it was funny, bitingly so at times, but the pace was just draggy.

Jennifer’s Body is a movie made with a softer touch.

It has a female director, a female writer, and Fox’s counterpart is played by Amanda Seyfried (HBO’s Big Love, Mamma Mia!). I cannot help but wonder if years of watching movie in the genre made by men has – oh? – programmed me to expect, say, more in-your-face titillation.

Subtlety, or as much as possible, rules this production, and that’s a welcome change of pace.

So perhaps you will enjoy more thoroughly the story of Fox’s titular character, an alpha female in the small town of Devil’s Kettle, who, after a fateful encounter with a small-time emo band that leaves her possessed by a demon, is propelled to graduate from high school evil to evil evil – and hungry for boys.

Only her BFF, the unfortunately nicknamed Needy (Seyfried), sees Jennifer for what she’s become – and only she can stop her from ravaging through the town’s testosterone-prone.

I – I already saw Jennifer’s Body, and while I would love to check it out again, with an audience that’s more alive and that would distract from Fox’s aggroying Paris Hilton voice affectation, I think I’ll pass. It’s a recession, after all.

My Rating **1/2

Photo: 20th Century Fox.

She Points, She Shoots

The second (new) single off Madonna’s upcoming greatest hits album Celebration, “Revolver,” has made its way onto the WWW, and it’s...an acquired taste.

The track, featuring Lil Wayne, is no “Celebration,” but I’m still going to love it.

Eventually. (Same thing happened with “Frozen,” so like, I’m not worried at all.)

Photo: PerezHilton.com.

Update 1: OMG, click here to watch the fan-centric version of the “Celebration” video shot in Milan and Barcelona while M was on tour this summer.

It’s...democratic, if you will. The guy at the 1:50 mark is kinda cute. Ditto 2:39.

And Madonna’s daughter, Lola, makes an extended cameo in full “Like aVirgin” at the MTV VMAs garb that is just too cute. Check her out at the 2:44 mark!

Update 2: I officially love “Revolver.”

Update 3: Ouch.

Be in the Know

Mika’s sophomore album, The Boy Who Knew Too Much, is currently streaming on EW.com’s Music Mix Blog.

So go ahead: learn it, live it, love it. Now!

The Boy Who Knew Too Much arrives in stores on Sept. 22.

Photo: EW.com.

Just Because, Pt. 50

I said it once, and I’ll say it again: Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart? It’s just terrific.

The two celebrated the release of this Friday’s Love Happens, sharing a hug at last night’s premiere in L.A.

They’re sooo pretty together, they should date.

Photo: UsMagazine.com.

Update: Of working with Aniston, Eckhart says the experience was a breeze.

“She was very easygoing, very effortless,” he said at the premiere. “I think that’s the word I want to use: effortless.”

Simply Irresistible, Pt. 57

Damn you for that opening scene on Melrose Place last night, Colin Egglesfield.

Damn you to H-O-T hell.

And thank you for this behind-the-scenes look-see at the making of the show.

Photo: CWTV.com.

The Tweet Heard ’Round the World

I was up bright and early today – like, early – and heard on the radio the audio of the off-the-record part of the interview President Obama gave CNBC on Monday – you know, the one in which he called Kanye West a “jackass” for stealing Taylor Swift’s thunder at the MTV VMAs.

The comment was tweeted, and then deleted, by an ABC reporter.

I cringed as I anticipated how some people would spin this to their advantage: “The POTUS said ‘jackass.’ How unbecoming!” came to mind.

Really, though, to me the most aggroying part of Tweetgate is that not only was the off-the-record remark tweeted, of all things, now the audio’s been leaked. It makes me shudder…and nostalgic for the days of yore.

For realsies.

Once upon a time, “off-the-record” used to mean something, you know, and you wouldn’t follow such a gaffe with another bigger one. Now you have to watch out for any unfamiliar-with-the-concept idiot with a BlackBerry, too.

Like, a writer wouldn’t write “and so-and-so said, off the record…” because that wouldn’t pass muster.

Tsk, tsk.

Photo: HuffingtonPost.com.

And This Is How You Take Hollywood by Storm

First move toward becoming a movie star: Get cast in a cult hit.

Second move toward becoming a movie star: Get cast in one of Hollywood’s hottest commodities.

District 9’s Sharlto Copley will play oddball pilot H.M. “Howling Mad” Murdoch in the June 2010 remake of The A-Team.

The not-so-little-known-anymore South African joins a cast that includes Liam Neeson as Col. John “Hannibal” Smith, Bradley Cooper as Lt. Templeton “Faceman” Peck, and Ultimate Fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as B.A. Baracus.

Jessica Biel will portray an ex-flame of Faceman’s, while Patrick Wilson will be featured as a CIA operative.

Photo: LATimes.com.

Single Man No Longer Looking

The Weinstein Co. has swooped in and made a commitment to A Single Man, Tom Ford’s directorial debut – get this – with the intention of releasing it this year so it can attract some Oscar loving.

The ultra-stylish drama – it’s Tom frakkin’ Ford, so uh duh – starring Colin Firth premiered last night at the Toronto International Film Festival

A Single Man may generate further buzz thanks in part to Firth and co-star Julianne Moore’s supporting performance. Matthew Goode and Ginnifer Goodwin are also in the film.

And can I just say, fantastic trailer (I’m mesmerized):



Looks like Ford has an auspicious and sexy debut in his hands.

Update: Colin Firth was named Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for his portrayal of a college professor, mourning the loss of his partner, who considers ending his own life.

A Single Man is expected to be released on Dec. 4.

A Project You’re Actually Meant to See

Here’s something Oscar-winning Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black does want you to keep in mind: his upcoming What’s Wrong with Virginia.

Black, who earlier this summer had a nude-photo leak situation, is set to direct the indie drama, which he also wrote.

Ed Harris, Emma Roberts, and Amy Madigan (TV’s Grey’s Anatomy) will co-star, while Jennifer Connelly has signed on to play the titular role.

Photo: VMan.com.

Gotta Get to Readin’

I did a bad bad thing.

I forgot to support the first-week sales of Kathy Griffin’s first book, Official Book Club Selection.

I feel so bad, I’ll buy a copy for myself and for whoever has a birthday coming up.

Photo: ShowHype.com.

R.I.P. Patrick Swayze

Dirty Dancing and Ghost star Patrick Swayze lost his battle with pancreatic cancer today. He was 57.

“Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months,” his rep said in a statement.

Swayze’s co-star in The Outsiders and Youngblood, Rob Lowe, said the actor “lived a hundred lifetimes in one. I will remember him for that, and I will remember him for how much he loved his wife Lisa. He definitely made the most out of it.”

Swayze most recently starred in A&E’s The Beast.

Photo: ScrapeTV.com.

Update 1: Click here to read reactions from Swayze’s friends and co-stars, including Whoopi Goldberg, C. Thomas Howell, and Travis Fimmel.

Update 2: Now click here for reactions from Ashton Kutcher, Alyssa Milano, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Update 3: Jennifer Grey, Demi Moore, and Dirty Dancing and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar choreographer Kenny Ortega have also expressed their sorrow.

Update 4: Ditto Keanu Reeves.

Just Because, Pt. 49

Ah, to be a hog sometimes….

Ryan Reynolds was spotted riding around on his motorcycle in last week.

The actor will next be seen on TV, hosting SNL on Oct. 3.

Photo: UsMagazine.com.

The Q Goes Off-Broadway

Never underestimate the power of the puppet.

Producers for Avenue Q, which was marking its last performance on Broadway last night, announced that the Tony-winning hit will be moving into an Off-Broadway venue beginning on Oct. 9.

This is the first time a Broadway musical has transferred to an Off-Broadway theater.

Good for them!

Photo: In10Words.wordpress.com.

The Green Hornet Gets a Basterd

Inglourious Basterds breakout star Christoph Waltz has signed on to join Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, and Cameron Diaz in December 2010’s The Green Hornet.

Waltz will play Chudnofsky, a crime lord who tries to form a super-syndicate among L.A.’s toughest gangs.

Good casting, I say. By the time the next six months are up, dude will probably be an Academy Award-nominated actor in high demand.

Photo: Tarantino.info.

Bloody King

Season 2 of True Blood is not even cold yet, but Season 3’s already making news.

Veteran stage (Take Me Out), film (Duplicity), and TV (Brothers & Sisters) character actor Denis O’Hare has been cast as the king of Mississippi.

O’Hare will join the show as a regular next summer, and per True Blood creator Alan Ball, he’s set to share many a scene with Evan Rachel Wood, who plays Queen Sophie-Anne.

Photo: WikiMedia.org.

Update: Click here to read about a major plot point that could forever change Sookie and Bill’s relationship.

Play This

I was looking at photos from New York Fashion Week earlier, and noticed that some band called the Plastiscines has performed at some party, so I had to YouTube them, and I’m so glad I did.

The Plastiscines are an all-female French rock band who perform mostly in English.

And rock they do.

I’m loving their song “Barcelona,” which streaming on their MySpace, as well as “Loser,” which is so much fun.

Photo: WindishAgency.com.