A Baby and an Album on the Way

Robin Thicke and Paula Patton are expecting their first baby.

I’d read the story earlier this week, but I decided to wait until it appeared on People.com because they never ever run anything that’s not publicist-confirmed and whatnot.

The reason: Like, I could swear Patton was pregnant once before – if you get on the Google you can even see the photos, so….

But, anyway, this will be the first child for the high school sweethearts, who married four years ago.

Thicke is also anticipating the arrival of a new album – Sex Therapy (click here to listen to the first single of the same name) – on Dec. 8.

I’m going to add it to my Amazon.com Wish List right this hot second.

Photo: People.com.

Moroccan Sex

The Sex and the City sequel has gone international.

At first, the powers that be wanted to go to Dubai, but the government there rejected their film permit, so Sarah Jessica Parker & Co. have gone to Morocco.

Parker and co-star Cynthia Nixon were spotted shooting scenes for the sequel in the Northern Africa nation today.

Loves it.

Photo: UsMagazine.com.

…Britney One More Time

The comeback is complete, people.

Britney Spears is back – or, to be more accurate, Britney Spears’ body’s back, and then some.

The pop tart’s new video for her ode-to-the-threeway single “3” off her upcoming Britney Spears: The Singles Collection (out on Nov. 10) is literally steaming hot, and features her in the most rocking black lace leggings, two muscled boy toys, and lots of the sexy stuff:



This really is the best Spears has looked in years. Don’t ever go away again, boo!

No Oscars for Hugh

Well, it’s not like X-Men Origins: Wolverine was going to earn Hugh Jackman an Academy Award (we know), but the actor won’t be attending next year’s show – not as the evening’s host, at least.

Jackman has quietly pulled himself out of the running to host the 2010’s Oscars because he reportedly didn’t want to host the ceremony two years in a row.

I think it’s a smart move.

Dude’s special, and he should only make everything special. If Jackman thinks there can be such a thing as too much of him, then I won’t argue. I won’t like it, but I won’t argue.

Photo: PhotoBucket.com.

Update: Another A-Lister who wont be, or doesn’t think he’ll be hosting the Oscars next year is next year’s Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais.

“If Oscars called, yes (I’d entertain the offer) but I don’t think they would,” the comedian told EW.com. “If they called me, I’d say, ‘I’ll turn up an hour before. I may be drunk, but just point me to where the microphone is.’ I don’t think they’ll accept those terms.”

They Should Have Pulled Out the Big Guns Sooner

NBC has decided not to renew the freshman medical drama Trauma.

Production on the show will be halted after its original 13-episode order is completed.

Cliff Curtis, who plays the resident bad boy on the show (which I’ve been On Demand-ing), teased earlier this week that they, “actually have an episode coming up where [co-star Taylor Kinney] takes his shirt off, it’s one for the ladies, and that boy is in mad shape.”

Uhh...from the looks of Kinney, Trauma should’ve had the dude shirtless a looong time ago. Hello!

Photo: SpanEngRish.blogspot.com.

The List, Pt. 9

In: Teams Stefan or Damon.

So Five Minutes Ago: Teams Bill or Eric.

O-V-E-R: Twilight’s Edward Cullen – unless you’re a 13-year-old girl...or think like one.

Photo: CWTV.com (The Vampire Diaries).

Avatarmania’s Boiling

A new tailer for James Cameron’s Avatar, starring Sam Worthington, dropped today, and I likey, especially because it reveals a lot more than the teaser from a couple of months ago:

Up until now, all I knew was that Worthington would be playing a wheelchair-bound former Marine named Jake Sully, and that the movie would be set in the 22nd century on the alien moon Pandora.

Now I know who else is in the movie (hello, Giovanni Ribisi and Michelle Rodriguez!), and what brings Sully to Pandora, and what the main conflict will be.

I am excited....

Avatar opens on Dec. 18.

Yes He Did!

Today, President Barack Obama signed a law that makes it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity.

Obama pledged to sign the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was added to a $680 billion defense authorization bill, after the Senate passed the legislation last week.

To loud applause, the POTUS hailed the hate crimes measure in the bill as a step toward change to “help protect our citizens from violence based on what they look like, who they love, how they pray. Today I’m pleased to say that we have proved that change is possible.”

Yes it is, and many people thank you. Now keep it going, you.

Photo: CNN.com.

A Love That’s Taylor Made

How adorable a (possible) couple do Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner make?

I could puke they go so well together….

The Valentine’s Day co-stars weremost recently spotted doing their thing out for dinner in Beverly Hills.

All together now: Awww!

Photo: People.com.

90210 Goes Gay

There must be something in the air over at The CW’s HQ.

Melrose Place has a resident bisexual in its Ella (Katie Cassidy), and Gossip Girl just got its gay on when Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) kissed a boy (and kinda liked it).

Now 90210 is readying its first same-sex story line for January, which will pair West Beverly’s token lesbian, Gia (Rumer Willis, pictured at right), with – Spoiler Alert! – Adriana (Jessica Lowndes).

“This isn’t a fling,” said executive producer Rebecca Sinclair. “We’re coming at this [relationship] from a genuine place and not going, ‘Let’s do a titillating story that will grab some promotion.’ This is a real aspect of teenager life…. And there’s been a real void [on the show] in terms of gay and bisexual characters.”

Yeah – they’re here, and they’re queer. Deal with it. Better yet, watch the show – something I have to do because it’s only a matter of time before my TiVo starts deleting my 90210 episodes.

It’s prolly thinking, “You’re not a squirrel, you don’t need to store up for winter.”

Photo: EW.com.

Time for More

OK – so I’ve been a bad 24 fan, having let my commitment to the show lapse halfway through last season, and not, mind you, because I wasn’t liking the plot but rather due to scheduling conflicts.

Whatever. I’ve been bad, and now I have to catch up.

I do understand, though, that Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer ended his last very long day with a bit of a health scare, and that he’d decided to – what the what! – retire.

Think again, Jack. It’s time for you to have a cookie, buck up, and keep going.

24’s eighth season will see TV’s busiest hero race through the streets of NYC trying to stop an assassination at the United Nations:



Spoiler Alert: All Jack will want as Day 8 starts is his family, which now includes a cute-as-a-button granddaughter.

Yeah...Jack’s a total GILF now!

We’ll have to wait until Jan. 17 to see if he gets his wish.

The Mod Fam Banks

OK – so I’m not watching TV’s Modern Family quite just yet this year (I’m TiVoing it for…something soon).

But oy if the comedy didn’t just get more appealing: Elizabeth Banks, one of my all-time faves, and Chazz Palminteri will both guest-star later this season.

Banks will play a friend who Cam and Mitchell (the gay couple, right?) partied with before they adopted a baby girl. Having lost her friends, Banks’ character begins to hate their little bundle o’ joy.

Meanwhile, Palminteri will play a friend of Ed O’Neill’s character.

Modern Family hasn’t had any trouble lining up bold-faced names to pay visits: Shelley Long already made an appearance, and Benjamin Bratt and Ed Norton are also a-comin’.

Photo: Collider.com.

Long Live the King

There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it, Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT, the crown for most anticipated…uhh…film of the year is yours.

Yeah, I hesitate to call this epilogue in the life of the late King of Pop a documentary film because it really is nothing but a making-of documentary, y’ know, material that anyone would’ve expected to find as extras in the eventual DVD release of Jackson’s never-happened “This Is It Tour,” a series of concerts in London scheduled for last summer. So if you’re looking for that, then this will be right up your alley.

Here we are, though, and here we’ve been anticipating the opening around the world of this exclusive two-week engagement of Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT, hoping that we’d be among the lucky ones to score tickets to this event.

And there you’ll be in the next few days, standing in line, buying popcorn, saving seats for friends, singing along with MJ, and choking up as you realize that, indeed, this is it.

After a lifetime of entertaining us, of shocking us, of disappointing us, MJ is gone. Buried, but certainly not forgotten.

Watching Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT, though, I couldn’t help but wonder: Is that all there is?

“This film is Michael’s gift to his fans,” said Kenny Ortega (High School Musical), the tour’s director-turned-the doc’s director, in anticipation of its release.

Some may say it’s a risky way for a studio to make a buck, but I really think that this is actually more of a bittersweet farewell.

As Jackson rehearsed for his much-anticipated residency in London but a couple of months before opening night, Ortega and his crew were there with him. They “caught the magic” on camera, which is what you’ll see at the movie theater.

No one could’ve imagined that Jackson, who demands perfection in the nicest of ways, cracks jokes, and appears game and stronger than he’s been described since his death in the media, would be gone before the tour was set to star.

Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT gives us a rare look at MJ’s genius in action. We hear him asking to let notes “simmer,” blessing everyone around him. We see belt his hits. And we see him dance. Boy, could he dance. (Alas – Spoiler Alert! – there’s no moonwalking.)

We see him getting ready to come back to us – come back alive, perhaps? – and while his dancers are shown doing the heavier lifting, MJ’s essence permeates throughout the stage and runs through their veins.

I’m not sure Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT will satisfy more than a mere curiosity for what may have been. That concert Jackson was prepping was going to be groundbreaking…seminal…. Epic.

He was just so, after all, and this doc runs with that. There’s no mention of “the end.” This is a celebration of his final work, period. So that’s why and how you should see it. This is an event you do not want to miss, but leave your morbidity at home.

Michael Jackson was a King, but damn it, he was a man, too. A showman. And what a showman he was.

If you’re looking for answers, though, you will not find them in this bit of nostalgia. He wanted to be startin’ somethin’, and now you can see how, so enjoy that.

My Rating ***

Photo: Sony Pictures.

Melrose Place Goes In-Zano

In an effort to “fun and sexy” up one of TV’s most struggling fall offerings, the powers that be have asked Nick Zano to move into Melrose Place.

Zano currently can be seen playing Courteney Cox’s boy-toy on Cougar Town. His new gig as a doctor who works with Lauren (Stephanie Jacobsen) and Michael (Thomas Calabro) on The CW’s troubled reboot will not interfere with his commitment to the ABC hit show.

His character is described as “irreverent and funny…. He will move into the [apartment] building. He doesn’t take life very seriously. Medicine can be very fun as well as serious to him, and he ends up lightening up Lauren.”

I still say getting rid of Colin Egglesfield was a huge mistake, though.

Photo: StarPulse.com.

GaGa’s Gossip Garb

It’s officially official: Pop’s It Girl Lady GaGa will appear in the Nov. 16 episode of Gossip Girl, which is titled “The Last Days of Disco Stick.”

The plot of the evening is said to involve Blair (Leighton Meester, pictured at right with co-star Penn Badgley and their guest) getting Lady GaGa to put on a private show. Meester described GaGa’s appearance as “very avant-garde and kind of gothic.”

A report teased that the “Paparazzi” singer will wear a long staged dress that’s 30 feet long and that she’ll perform her new single, “Bad Romance.”

Photo: NYMag.com.

Lisa’ll Be There for Courteney

Everyone who thought Jennifer Aniston would be the first to visit TV’s Cougar Town, you were wrong.

Lisa Kudrow has signed on to for a

guest-starring stint on former Friend Courteney Cox’s hit comedy.

“She’ll play a dermatologist that my character can’t stop going to even though [she's] mean to me,” Cox teased.

The pseudo-reunion episode will early next year.

Photo: EW.com.

Update: Speaking of the Friends, Matthew Perry has inked a deal with ABC, which airs Cougar Town, to to star in, executive produce, and co-write a potential comedy series about a self-consumed 40-year-old manager of a second-rate sports arena who’s reluctantly learning to be a nicer guy.

Could that sound any more up his alley?

Now click here to find out more – and to read Perry’s ideal timeline for a reunion at Central Perk.

They Are in New York

Native New Yorkers Jay-Z and Alicia Keys will perform “Empire State of Mind” before game 1 of the World Series tomorrow night at Yankee Stadium.

Keys will then perform the national anthem.

The New York Yankees will face off against the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series, which will air on Fox.

The cast of Glee is set to perform before game 3.

Photo: PopCrunch.com.

Update: Jay-Z and Alicia Keys have postponed their World Series performance to game 2 on Oct. 29. Weather was cited as the reason for the shift.

“Staging for the performance could adversely impact the field if it is wet, creating damaged and unsafe playing conditions,” read a statement issued on behalf of Jay-Z and Major League Baseball.

The show will go on, but safety first, kids.

The Lamp Rules

The Pixar animated lamp will not be knocked down!

ABC Family has announced plans to air a two-hour block of Pixar shorts on Dec. 2 as part of its annual 25 Days of Christmas programming.

The 20 animated short films include the Academy Award-winning “Geri’s Game,” “For the Birds,” and “Tin Toy.”

This the perfect opportunity for Pixar fans to get to know these shorts, some of which play before the studio’ features but usually don’t get a wide audience.

Photo: MouseWallpapers.com.

No More Runway for This Supermodel, Thank You Very Much

Cindy Crawford may still grace the pages of fashion magazines in editorials and campaigns, but she is done with the runway.

“I don’t want to stand next to a 20-year-old on the runway, even if people say you can still do it. It’s like, ‘Why would I do that to myself?‘ It would just make me depressed,” she said.

“I guess I appreciate my body for other things, like I was able to give birth to two kids. But at the same time, I am aware my body doesn’t look the same way it did when I was 23. I actually don’t want to feel that pressure.”

Sounds like Crawford knows how to quit while she’s ahead, and work what she still has going on to the max.

Photo: Cindy-Crawford.net.

Just Because, Pt. 53

I’m not even going to pretend to try and write anything about this David Beckham shot that could state the obvious.

I mean, do you care that it was taken after an L.A. Galaxy game last Saturday, or that Becks’ team beat the San Jose Earthquakes, 2-0?

It’s all about the scruff, y’know….

Photo: People.com.

…Poke a Needle in Their Eye

Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth are headed to Broadway.

The Emmy-winning Will & Grace scene-stealer and the Tony- and Emmy-winning petite powerhouse (Wicked, Pushing Daisies) have put the rumors to rest and signed on to headline the revival of the musical Promises, Promises.

The musical, based on the 1960 Oscar-winning Billy Wilder film The Apartment starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, was written by three superstars – Neil Simon (book), Burt Bacharach (music), and Hal David (lyrics) – and includes songs such as “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” and “Promises, Promises.”

Promises, Promises is set to open on April 25, with previews beginning on March 28.

Photo: Collider.com; AccessHollywood.com.

Update: Also headed to the Great White Way: Scarlett Johansson, who will make her Broadway debut opposite Liev Schreiber in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge.

Performances are set to begin on Dec. 28, with an opening scheduled for Jan. 24. The limited engagement will run for 14 weeks only.

The Britishest Host

Comedic geniuz Ricky Gervais has been tapped to host the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards airing live on NBC on Jan. 17. Gervais will be the award show’s first host since 1995.

“Not only is this the biggest Hollywood celebration of the industry which includes both film and TV, but also an environment where I feel I can get free reign as a host,” the Invention of Lying star said. “I have resisted many other offers like this, but there are just some things you don’t turn down.”

I’ll bet producers have been knocking at his door. The guy kills every single time he makes an appearance at any awards show. He’s always a highlight.

Photo: RipCordNews.com.

Simply Irresistible, Pt. 60

Adding new blood to an established TV show is a tricky proposition, but Grey’s Anatomy has managed to do so this season.

And I’m liking it.

I won’t go into the particulars, but I have to say, out of all the Mercy Westers who have invaded Seattle Grace, I’m most into Jesse Williams’ (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2) Dr. Jackson Avery.

His eyes could bring back the deadest thing back to life – hello!

Photo: NYPost.com.

Top Grade Casting

The A-Team has been assembled – and it’s looking mighty fine.

The would-be blockbuster’s currently in production, but I’ll say it now: This may be the first TV show-cum-movie franchise in a long time we’re all gonna get behind come next summer.

I mean, the cast – which includes Liam Neeson as Col. John “Hannibal” Smith, Bradley Cooper as Lt. Templeton “Faceman” Peck, District 9’s Sharlto Copley, and Ultimate Fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as B.A. Baracus – looks pretty spot, no?

Photo: FlavorWire.com.

From the Beautiful Life to the Strange Life

Sebastian Roché, a casualty of The CW’s short-lived The Beautiful Life is moving onto Fringe.

The actor has joined the increasingly addictive Fox sci-fi show on a recurring basis, replacing the very handsome Thomas Kretschmann as a villainous soldier from the show’s alternate universe, engaged in trying to open a door between worlds.

Krestchmann had to pull out due to a scheduling conflict. His loss is Roché’s win, and hopefully ours as well.

Photo: PhotoBucket.com.

She Soared Through the Air with the Greatest of Ease

Mira Nair’s Amelia kinda sneaked up on me.

I mean, I knew the Amelia Earhart biopic starring Hilary Swank was coming out, but for some reason I thought it wouldn’t be landing in theaters until later this fall. The movie’s here now, so know you won’t be missing out on much if you skip it.

I’m not saying so because knowing how the story of the pioneering aviatrix ended will diminish the excitement of seeing Swank take on the iconic role, but rather because Nair has managed the impossible feat of applying a heavy hand to a pretty straightforwardly told story…a too straightforwardly told story.

Amelia’s script, adapted from two Earhart biographies, is overstuffed with interesting, but less than riveting information, dwelling too much on her reluctance toward fame and often complicated love life.

Certainly, I learned plenty about the woman, but I didn’t necessarily feel enraptured by her passion for the sky, for her life in the air, which she lived and died for.

By dwelling on the ground, a place Earhart herself didn’t feel at ease in spite of its elegance as seen in the production of the locations, sets, and wardrobes, Nair deadens her movie’s spirit of adventure.

The fact that Earhart made headlines by setting records as the first woman ever to fly across the Atlantic in 1928 as a passenger, and then solo four years later, becomes but a footnote since Amelia worries more about showing us how torn she felt between her George Putnam (Richard Gere), the publisher and promoter who became her husband, and aeronautics pioneer Gene Vidal (a charming Ewan McGregor).

And that’s like, a disconnect, wouldn’t you agree?

My Rating **

Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.

The List, Pt. 8

In: Amanda’s (Becki Newton) “Mmm – que rico!” on TV’s Ugly Betty (seen at 1:27 and 1:40 here).

So Five Minutes Ago: Amanda’s “This…[signaling with all five fingers] bores bore me!”

O-V-E-R: Neglecting Amanda.

Photo: TheDailyBeast.com.

Mademoiselle Fashion

Once upon a time, there was a girl, a nothing-special type of girl, but this girl would grow up to become the first lady of fashion.

She was Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, and Anne Fontaine’s Coco Before Chanel tells the story of her life – the story of the legend’s early days, actually.

Played by Audrey Tautou – who has never been as luminous in anything since her big splash in Amélie – Gabrielle is a headstrong French orphan who, through an extraordinary journey, becomes the legendary couturier who embodied the modern woman and became a timeless symbol of success, freedom, and style.

The en-français movie follows Gabrielle’s early formative days in Moulins as she struggled as a sewer by the day and cabaret singer by night (a bit of trivia: it was the song “Qui Qu’a Vu Coco Dans L’Trocadéro” that earned Chanel her trademark nickname, which she was reluctant to accept).

Fiercely independent, if a bit confused about who she was at this stage in her life, Gabrielle took to shacking up with Étienne Balsan (Benoît Poelvoorde), a protective horse breeder living outside Paris, while falling for Arthur “Boy” Capel (Junebug’s Alessandro Nivola), a British entrepreneur and the love of her life.

Coco Before Chanel explores this essential growth in the designer’s life, a transition that didn’t come easy to her as she had to learn how to compromise her distaste for convention with her desire for something more.

Tautou comes off kinda hoity-toity in the movie – she doesn’t…smile much – but it works, for Gabrielle was hardened by her experiences.

Ultimately, though, Coco Before Chanel, unlike its groundbreaking subject, didn’t quite come into its own until late in the game, when Chanel fully embraced her “Coco”ness. A shame, really, since it could’ve made for a more exciting movie.

My Rating **

Photo: Sony Pictures Classics.

Her Sister’s Co-star

It’s been a dream pairing for fans of TV’s Bones for quite some time: Zooey Deschanel will guest-star opposite her sister Emily on the hit show later this season.

The (500) Days of Summer star will play Emily’s cousin in the Christmas episode airing on Dec. 10.

“We alluded to [Bones] having a cousin in Minnesota two seasons ago,” said executive producer Hart Hanson during the courting process.

Photo: BuzzCritic.com.

Gettin’ the S--- Done!

President Barack Obama, it’s time to prove your mettle, if for no other reason than to get Lady GaGa off your back.

The Senate passed groundbreaking legislation today that, at long frakkin’ last, would make it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. The expanded federal hate crimes law now has gone to the POTUS’ desk.

Proving that yes, he can, Obama has pledged to sign the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was added to a $680 billion defense authorization bill.

The measure is named for Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming teenager who died after being kidnapped and severely beaten in October 1998, and James Byrd Jr., an African-American man dragged to death in Texas the same year.

“Knowing that the president will sign it, unlike his predecessor [George W. Bush], has made all the hard work this year to pass it worthwhile,” said Judy Shepard, board president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation named for her son. “Hate crimes continue to affect far too many Americans who are simply trying to live their lives honestly, and they need to know that their government will protect them from violence, and provide appropriate justice for victims and their families.”

The time – the future – is right now. Do your people proud, Obama.

Photo: Time.com.

Moving Out of Melrose Place

Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and Colin Egglesfield have been asked to vacate the Melrose Place premises.

We see how the powers that be would want the former and her whole face-acting situation off the show, but why do Egglesfield and his hotness gotta go, too?

Why?!

The actors will be last seen in January, by which time the “Who Killed Sydney?” affair will be wrapped up with a ribbon on it. Exec producers Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer spilled the beans on this news and other show developments, saying they “always knew that [Simpson-Wentz’s] character, Violet, would be instrumental in that as a suspect, and [Egglesfield’s] Augie as well. And once that murder mystery was solved, she would go on her way. That was the original plan going into the development of the show.

“[Augie] Colin was always meant to be the ultimate suspect. And his brooding alcoholic [character] tonally didn’t fit the paradigm moving into post-murder mystery Melrose Place.”

But he’s so hot!

Photo: TVGuide.com.

Update: In a statement released after the news broke, Simpson-Wentz said, “Having the chance to play Violet on Melrose Place has been a thrill.

“Although I always knew her story would come to a final, insanely unpredictable end, playing a creepy, unstable character was something I always wanted to do, so I jumped at the chance. Thanks to The CW and the entire cast and crew of Melrose Place for allowing me this opportunity.”

How nice and gracious, but why, oh why did they have to get rid of Egglesfield, too?!

Ready to Help

Doubt Oscar nominee Viola Davis has scored two new roles that will see her helping folks.

In It’s Kind of a Funny Story, she will star opposite Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover) as a psychiatrist who helps a depressed 15-year-old in an adult ward.

And in Trust, directed by David Schwimmer and starring Clive Owen and Catherine Keener, she also will play a counselor – one who helps a family after their daughter is victimized online.

Photo: BET.com.

The Pull of Fashion

Tom Ford may be enjoying auspicious reviews for his directorial debut, A Single Man (due out in December), but the man has confirmed he’s going back to the fashion world by launching Tom Ford womenswear “very soon.”

Fashionistas everywhere just had a little ’gasm.

People in the know are saying that Ford could be back on the runway as early as next fall, pending adequate financing.

I guess Tom Ford, the designer, is anything but O-V-E-R. (Mmm...he makes crow taste so good.)

Photo: Zimbio.com.

Up Where He Belongs

My favorite crooner, Robin Thicke, was up in the sky-ish yesterday when he helped light up New York’s Empire State Building on behalf of Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation.

Does he do charity handsome, or does he do charity handsome!

Seeing the Thickster almost makes me forget that, aside for a little collab with the fab Leighton Meester, he’s been pretty much MIA for a bit and a half.

Not that it’s his fault: One day, people are going to realize what a mistake they made ignoring his Something Else and his “Magic,” and his “Sweetest Love.”

Photo: People.com.

Kathy for the Holidays

’Tis the season...so suck it.

Kathy Griffin’s ready to spread her holiday cheer with her upcoming album Suckin’ It for The Holidays.

Loving the title....

The scathing new comedy CD for all seasons will arrive in stores on Nov. 3, so get a leg up on your Christmas shopping and pick one up.

(Ever the awards-hungry Queen D, Griffin released a digital-only edition of the album in late August – just so she could qualify for next year’s Grammy. Atta girl!)

Suckin’ It for The Holidays was recorded live during Griffin’s sold-out show at the Borgota Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City last summer.

“Suckin’ It for The Holidays is my holiday gift to Grammy voters,” she said. “It gives them a second chance to do the right thing this year at Best Comedy Album time. The Emmys on my mantle are dying to hang out with a real Grammy.”

You can expect the usual from the comedian, including stories about Katie Couric, Maya Angelou, Suze Orman, Justin Timberlake, T.I., Donald Trump, the Real Housewives, Speidi, her mother, and much more.

And, natch, you can expect to laugh.

Photo: The Karpel Group.

Only a Matter of Time Until We Scream Again

Jeez – it’s like everyone’s on Twitter.

Last night, Wes Craven (pictured at right in his cameo/homage to his own oeuvre in Scream) took to his account to simma talk that he will be directing a fourth entry in the Scream franchise.

“In response to the rumors about me directing Scream 4, a deal has not yet been set, so stay tuned for accurate information,” he tweeted.

Craven is enthusiastic, though. He recently tweeted that he had “ had dinner with [screenwriter Kevin Williamson], and the script sounds fantastic!”

Courteney Cox Arquette and David Arquette already are on board, and I remember reading somewhere on the blogosphere that Never Campbell had said OK to reprising her role as Sidney Prescott again, but that, too, remains TBC.

Photo: Stumblerz.com.

Glee Gets M’s Music

I heart Entertainment Weekly because it always brings me good news.

This week’s cover story on Glee, officially my favorite new TV show of the season, breaks the news I’ve been anticipating for a while now: Madonna has agreed to let the show use her catalog.

Beloved by critics and fans, Glee has been building on its promise since its debut last spring.

Madonna’s involvement so def is a testament to how big the show is getting – and now Quinn Fabray’s (Dianna Agron) story line can get what it so obviously was meant to have all along: a “Papa Don’t Preach” number.

An all-Madonna-music episode is in the works for early next year.

If the Gleeks should win the finals, they sooo should do “Celebration.” In fact, get the Queen of Pop to guest-star as a glee club teacher or something.

Photo: Guardian.co.uk.

A Stupid Idea That Sounds Good

ABC is giving always-the-BFF-never-the-leading-lady actress Judy Greer another go at TV-sitcom stardom.

After failing with Miss Guided last year, Greer will star in a new sitcom based on Elaine Szewczyk’s book I’m With Stupid.

She would play a New York City gal who has a fling with a rugged park ranger while on safari in South Africa.

This news makes me go yay!

It’s time Greer got the material she needs to show everyone she can be more than an A-Lister’s best friend in a movie. (She last seen playing second banana to Jennifer Aniston in Love Happens.)

Photo: MyFilmo.com.

Not a Little Bird

Baby pictures brighten any rainy day....

Six weeks after welcoming their first son, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden – along with 22-month-old daughter Harlow – are introducing their baby boy, Sparrow James Midnight Madden.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Richie told People, who got the exclusive to Sparrow’s coming out. “The only thing you want is for your kids to be healthy and happy, and they are. I’m right where I belong.”

And this, starletbots of Hollywood, is how you turn a new leaf.

Photo: People.com.

All Dressed Up in Gucci

Talk about star wattage: Leo and Angelina may be teaming up for a movie about the Gucci empire.

Ridley Scott’s next project reportedly will revolve around the famed fashion house, and is likely to star Leonardo DiCaprio and Angelina Jolie as Maurizio Gucci and his ex-wife Patrizia.

According to sources, the two actors and Scott have been in talks for a bit now, but neither DiCaprio nor Jolie is officially attached to the project.

Titled Gucci, the movie will focus on Maurizio and his turnaround of the Gucci empire during the 1980s before he was murdered in a plot executed by ex-wife Patrizia Gucci. Charles Randolf (The Interpreter) wrote the current draft of the script.

Photo: TheCinemaSource; ForTheLoveOfFashion.com.

Back in the Hit-making Game

First, she scored with The Proposal.

Then she fumbled with the horribly reviewed All About Steve.

But now, if the trailer for The Blind Side is to be believed, Sandra Bullock will not be counted out of the 2009 game just yet.

The “based-on-an-incredible-true-story,” about a homeless black teenager (Quinton Aaron) who is taken in by a well-to-do white lady and her family (Bullock and Tim McGraw), will be out just in time for Thanksgiving (it’s actually due out on Nov. 20).

The movie looks heartwarming and like good ol’ family entertainment, and best of all, it might just make a contender out of Bullock (for a Golden Globe at least).

Photo: Warner Bros.

Leno Makes Me Wanna Watch Him

First lady Michelle Obama will guest on The Jay Leno Show on Oct. 23.

Obama will respond to 10 “rapid-fire questions” in a bit for the talk show.

Leave it to her to make me wanna watch – OK...TiVo, at least – Leno’s assault on prime time.

Photo: HuffingtonPost.com.

Posh Likes Gossip...But Will She Gossip?

Word on the street is that Gossip Girl star Blake Lively is more than just an actress: The New York, I Love You player’s also a guest-star scout.

Lively is said to have stopped by Victoria Beckham’s Spring 2010 presentation in the Big Apple last month, and reportedly convinced Posh to make a cameo on the show.

The Spice Girl is supposedly due on the Gossip Girl set as soon as Wednesday.

According to a source, “Posh wanted her role to be very tongue-in-cheek. And an idea for her to play Brit actor Ed Westwick’s long-lost mother was quickly vetoed. Victoria joked that she’d rather play his ex-love interest!”

I kinda like this idea: Posh plays cheeky quite well, as all 15 people who watched her NBC special a couple of years ago knows.

Photo: NYMag.com.

Joining the Club

Glee star Lea Michele’s in for a bit of a reunion.

Michele, a.k.a. Rachel, the ultra-competitive vocalist on the show, will welcome her old Spring Awakening co-star Jonathan Groff, who has signed on for five or six episodes playing the lead male singer of Vocal Adrenaline, the group already seen performing “Rehab” and “Mercy” earlier this season.

“He is a male diva,” said Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy. “A miva.”

And, natch, sparks will fly between Rachel and this new dude.

I cannot wait for that duet.

Photo: EW.com.

Update: OMFG, Gleeks! Joss Whedon is going to direct one of the back nine episodes of Glee that Fox has ordered.

Want to Smell Like Sex?

Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker is planning to launch a fragrance inspired by the popular HBO show-turned-movie franchise.

SJP NYC will follow on the heels of the actress’ two successful fragrances, Lovely and Covet. Parker says that the fruity floral scent will be a “party in a bottle,” influenced primarily by her character, Carrie Bradshaw.

“A large part of the inspiration was what I now understand to be people’s impressions of seeing Carrie Bradshaw walk down the street, and what feelings that evokes for her and for them – a real sense of freedom and possibilities, a love for the city around her, and, of course, fashion,” she told WWD.

SJP NYC is set to be sold exclusively in Macy’s stores beginning in February, just in time to whet fans’ appetites for all things SATC all over again. The Sex and the City sequel then will open in movie theaters three months later.

Photo: People.com.

Update: On a related note, Miley Cyrus has shot her SATC part deux cameo.