Woman on Top

Hurt Locker helmer Kathryn Bigelow was the big winner at last night’s Directors Guild of America Awards, becoming the first woman ever to receive the DGA’s Best Director accolade.

Among the winners for the year that was were the directors of the feature documentary The Cove, and HBO’s Taking Chance, as well as directors of episodes of Mad Men and Modern Family.

With this win, and its victory at the Producers Guild of America Awards, The Hurt Locker is now the frontrunner at the Oscars...but anything but a sure thing. A few years ago Brokeback Mountain also went into the big party with similar kudos under its belt, but didn’t end up winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

Photo: EW.com.

Is Jennifer Lopez Positioning?

I know it’s a reach but I think Jennifer Lopez has her eye on TV.

Or she should.

For years she’s taken on a guest-starring stint here, another over there, like on Will & Grace. Most recently, she guest-hosted Lopez Tonight, rather succesfully, and she may appear on Glee later this season.

Now she has lined up an appearance on How I Met Your Mother, where she will play a no-nonsense self-help author who teaches women how to turn men into relationship machines.

Mmm...perhaps Lopez has come to realize that her movie career has fizzled in the last few years (let’s wait and see how The Back-up Plan does, though), and that she can only sing about high-priced shoes for so long.

I think given the right material, probably on cable, Lopez could make our TV melt.

Now, if only I had a penny for this thought.

Photo: InStyle.com.

Update: Interesting: The release date for The Back-up Plan just got pushed, from April 16 to April 23.

It’s not a big change, but I cannot help but wonder: Strategic move, or trouble of some sort?

Wisteria Lane Gets Its Barrowman

Torchwood star John Barrowman is joining TV’s Desperate Housewives for a handful of episodes later this season.

The oh-sooo-handsome actor will play the Big Bad at the center of the Angie (Drea de Matteo) mystery.

You can expect to see him for the first time on the show in early April.

Photo: TheSun.co.uk.

Just Because, Pt. 55

Matthew McConaughey tuxed it up to hit the beach in Malibu for a Hugo Boss photo shoot earlier this week.

The DILF of two – his brand new baby girl, Vida, was born on Jan. 3 – sure makes dapper look easy, huh.

Photo: People.com.

A Man’s Song

And I’m back with more reviews, just like that.

It’s been a while since I last posted a review…I’ve been absent in that regard, but here I are again, out of left field in a way, which is appropriate since that’s how Crazy Heart came out – no one was expecting it.

The Jeff Bridges vehicle was supposed to come out in the spring, I’m fairly certain, but it got rushed out late last year so it could qualify for some awards love.

Although I bet the company line is far less cynical than that.

A good thing, too, anyway, since Bridges is stunning in it, and, indeed, awards-worthy. He’s already gotten a bunch of critical kudos, as well as the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor, and he’s a lock to receive an Oscar nomination next week.

The beloved actor plays Bad Blake, a broken-down, hard-living country music singer who’s had way too many marriages, far too many women, and even more years of bad living, boozing and smoking and working the road. When we meet him he’s at a fork, y’ know. He hasn’t written a song in years, he’s over touring, and he’s teetering on the edge.

And yet, Bad can’t help but reach for salvation with all his might when he meets a reporter named Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal).

She’s interested in getting to know the man behind the legend – Bad, y’ see, used to be quite famous, but now he does two-bits gigs to which he drives himself, and is on the outs with a younger and fresher rising star played Colin Farrell.

Jean helps him rediscover the man he is. They genuinely fall for each other. She’s his inspiration, but he’s her worst nightmare (a single mother to an adorable boy, she’s weary of their relationship).

As Bad struggles down the long, oft-unforgiven road toward redemption, he learns the hard way just how tough life can be on one man’s crazy heart.

This isn’t the bestest of movies – I know we’ve seen better-told stories on the silver screen before, although not quite so beautifully soundtracked (thanks to T-Bone Burnett’s original songs).

But Bridges is sooo good in Crazy Heart, so unglamorous, and, more importantly, so powerfully moving, it is easy to overlook any of the movie’s faults, which include, at times, a lack of engaging of the audience. (I caught a few zzzs during a couple of scenes there.)

But Bridges, man.... He’s the heart of Crazy Heart. And it’s a pleasure to see him beat.

My Rating ***

Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.

How the Mills Turns

Sex and the City 2 spoilers are beginning to make their way out there...minor ones, at least.

Remember Noah Mills?

Well, the model-turned-actor (who looks oh-so-disturbingly-much like a former) has blabbed a little, saying he’s playing Anthony’s (Mario Cantone) polar-opposite-ish brother.

“He’s a real New Yorker, a construction worker, blue-collar guy,” he said. “My first film experience is this role, so that was a little intimidating; they’ve worked together for so long.”

Boyfriend also says he has two scenes in the sequel opening in May, one with dialogue, and “a potentially more awkward scene.”

I’m guessing it involves Samantha, since the trailer kinda gave that away.

Photo: ImageShack.us.

The List, Pt. 19

In: Andy Whitfield.

So Five Minutes Ago: Gerard Butler.

O-V-E-R: Russell Crowe.

Photo: SciFiWire.com.

Simply Irresistible, Pt. 65

I am loving Leighton Meester’s new song, “Your Love’s a Drug,” which I saw her perform on South Beach last month, at the opening of Klutch Nightclub.

It’s like, c’mon girl, drop the album on us, already.

You know you want to.

Photo: People.com.

Give My Regards to Broadway, Lucy

One of my favorites, Lucy Liu, is preparing to make her Great White Way debut in God of Carnage in March.

Liu will join Dylan Baker, Janet McTeer, and Jeff Daniels (who’s returning to the show he helped originate, this time in the role played by James Gandolfini on the show’s initial run) on the Tony-winning comedy.

Let’s just say it now: With Liu out there, Broadway just got one heckuva lot prettier.

Photo: WhosDatedWho.com.

More Mel Coming Your Way

Mel Gibson, in theaters tomorrow, with Edge of Darkness, after almost eight years, is continuing on his quest for total silver screen renewed domination.

The actor, who has been working on Jodie Foster’s Beaver – uhh…that sounded kinda funny – is considering reteaming with Lethal Weapon screenwriter-turned-Kiss Kiss Bang Bang director Shane Black on Cold Warrior.

Black would direct the thriller about a retired Cold War spy who works with a younger agent to neutralize a terrorist threat from Russia.

Sounds kinda old school, no? But if anyone can make it work it’s Gibson.

Photo: GossipCheck.com.

Bad, Ugly News, TV Watchers

ABC has cancelled Ugly Betty.

The struggling show, which is currently in its fourth season (and as good as ever, albeit not as popular as ever), will end this season. And it’ll have to do it in 20 eps now that the network cut its order by two.

Now for the good news, which, believe it or not, is not just something I’m sayin’: The creative powers that be will have enough time to come up with a resolution to the adventures of America Ferrera’s alter ego, Betty Suarez.

I guess it was only a matter of time until Betty hung up her Guadalajara poncho for goodsies….

I wonder who she’ll end up with: Matt? Henry? Daniel? Alone (and happy)?

Time will tell.

Photo: AceShowbiz.com.

Update: Click here for an all-dressed-in-white series finale spoiler.

Putting the Disappointment in DUI

Adrian Pasdar was arrested for DUI early this morning.

The fallen Heroes star was stopped in the wee hours after he reportedly was spotted driving super-fast on the 405 in L.A., “failing to maintain his lane.”

The officer who stopped him smelled alcohol – gasp! – and decided to give him a field sobriety test. The actor was then arrested on suspicion of DUI.

Oh man…. Pasdar, I wish you nothing but the best, but c’mon – you know you can’t drink and drive, boo.

Photo: StarPulse.com.

From Pandora to Transylvania

Terminator Salvation and Avatar made him, as I suspected, the hottest thing in Hollywood, and now Sam Worthington is negotiating a starring role in Dracula: Year Zero.

The summer 2011 tentpole reportedly will be helmed by I, Robot’s Alex Proyas. It will be a period picture tracing Dracula’s roots in Transylvania.

Up next for Worthington, though, is this spring’s Clash of the Titans and Last Night with Keira Knightley.

Photo: UPI.com.

Another Husband for Mandy Moore

No, Mandy Moore is not splitting up with her husband of 10 months, Ryan Adams.

The actress has signed on for a romantic comedy called First Love, Then Marriage, and Kellan Lutz, who’s like, thisclose to becoming one of my favorites ever since I met him last year, will co-star as her husband.

Moore will play a marriage counselor, who after finding out her parents have separated, does all she can to bring them back together, to the detriment of her own new marriage.

I hope this doesn’t end up a by-the-numbers type of thing....

And OMG, Mandy, I know you’re a married lady and all, but you gotta run your fingers through Lutz’s abs, if anything because you can and the rest of us can’t.

Photo: DayLife.com.

Dude in a Box

Good news from the Sundance Film Festival is Ryan Reynolds is coming to a movie theater near you soon…in a box.

The actor is starring in Rodrigo Cortés’ Buried, as a contract driver in Iraq who’s buried alive in a coffin with no memory of how he got there:



Lionsgate has purchased the movie for just under $4 million after a bidding war, marking the first acquisition at the 2010 festival, so you should expect it later this year.

Slam It to the Stage!

Broadway may soon get a nice dose of spice courtesy of the Spice Girls.

Viva Forever, a new musical based on the music of the British quintet, is in the very-early stages of production. The show will tell its own story rather than be a tribute to Scary, Baby, Ginger, Posh, and Sporty.

“I want to create a unique celebration of the band and its music, with its own flavor and joyful message,” said producer Judy Craymer (Mamma Mia!). “It is important to me that the excitement, style and humor of the Spice Girls is well represented on stage.”

Love. It!

Photo: MusicLifeToday.blogspot.com.

Kitchen Crush

Mad Men cutie Sam Page is flashforwarding a few decades to now in order to crush on Marcia Cross’ Bree on TV’s Desperate Housewives.

Page is joining the Wisteria Lane residents for a multi-episode arc as Jeremy, a well-trained cook who idolizes the redhead and her old-fashioned values.

His first episode is slated to air in late February.

Photo: About.com.

And Then Things Got SAG-y

Last night’s 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were a (surprisingly) Basterd-ly affair, what with the cast of Inglourious Basterds being named the big winner at the show, taking home the Best Cast and Best Supporting Actor (for Christoph Waltz) trophies.

Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) and Mo’Nique (Precious) continued their winning streaks, while Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) bested Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia) in the Best Actress category.

Can I just say that I officially want Bullock to get the Oscar in March.

Yes, she’s the popular choice, but the actress has consistently delivered strong work over the years, and so what if she should win for ahigh-grossing OK movie – more than OK, actually. She’s been a Sweetheart of America for years, and she’s, at last, having a moment.

Anyway, the SAGs on the TV side went to the casts of Glee and Mad Men, Kevin Bacon (Male Actor in a Made-for-TV Movie, for Taking Chance), Drew Barrymore (Female Actor in a Made-for-TV Movie, for Grey Gardens), The Good Wife’s Julianna Margulies, Dexter’s Michael C. Hall, and 30 Rock’s Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin).

The evening featured, as a highlight, the presentation, by Sandra Bullock, of the SAG Life Achievement Award to the one, the only Betty White.

Photo: EW.com.

Update: In other awards news, The Hurt Locker was named Best Picture by the Producers Guild of America on Jan. 24.

Up picked up the animated feature trophy, while The Cove took hom the documentary award.

Save Haiti, Save Your Soul

Ever the philanthropist, two-time Sexiest Man Alive George Clooney spent the week organizing tonight’s “Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief,” a star-studded telethon, in the wake of the devastating 7.0 quake that hit the island nation on Jan. 12.

Slated to appear on the TV special, which will air beginning at 8 p.m. on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH-1, CMT, PBS, TNT, Showtime, Comedy Central, Bravo, and E! Entertainment, are President Bill Clinton, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Robert Pattinson, Will Smith, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Anderson Cooper (live from Haiti), Wyclef, and Muhammad Ali, among others.

Madonna will perform from New York. Btw, I hear the Queen of Pop is set to perform...an oldie but a goody. (I promised I wouldn’ t say which one. Yet.)

Other performers appearing from either the Big Apple or Los Angeles include Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, Alicia Keys, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and Stevie Wonder.

Keith Urban, Kid Rock, and Sheryl Crow will put on a group performance, while Beyoncé, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Bono and the Edge, and Coldplay will perform via satellite from London.

To donate to the relief effort, check out the American Red Cross link to your left, or visit the Partners in Health Web site.

Photo: Time.com.

Update 1: A hint regarding Madonna’s choice of song: She performed it on her “Re-Invention” and “Sticky & Sweet” tours.

Update 2: Alright, M’s supposed to sing “Like a Prayer.” Hopefully she won’t change her mind since I already told.

Update 3: “Hope for Haiti Now” reportedly raised $58 million with more donations coming in still.

There’s still time to donate by purchasing all the performances (or individual ones) from the telethon. I just bought three (guess which one I got first).

Proceeds will benefit Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF, the U.N. World Food Programme, Yele Haiti Foundation, and the Clinton Bush Haiti Foundation.

Adios, Conan!

It’s the end of a much-too-short era for Conan O’Brien (thanks, Jay Leno): The Tonight Show host is leaving NBC.

I’m sad to see him go (after only seven months), but glad to see him leave, with a reported cool $45 million, about $12 million of which will go to his staff of 200 in severance packages, no less.

Suck it, Peacock!

His last show is set for Jan. 22, with guests Tom Hanks and Will Ferrell.

“In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew, and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket,” said Gavin Polone, O’Brien’s manager. “Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible.”

At least all this drama has given Coco lots of material – like a hilarious up-yours $1.5 million 60-second comedy bit last night – and allowed for the grand return of the Masturbating Bear:



Isn’t it ironic that all of this has provided so much of the funny, and turned viewers onto the ratings-challenged show?

O’Brien won’t be back on the air (perhaps on Fox, if the blogosphere is right) until, at least, next September per the parting agreement between him and the fourth-place network that has treated him so poorly.

Update: Ha! And on Jan. 21, Coco outdid himself with the crazy-expensive suck-it-NBC comedy bits:

This one cost more than $4.5 million.

It was funny, alright, but I couldn’t help but wonder if Coco couldn’t have come up with a more charitable way to make NBC pay and squirm, like pledging a beyond-generous donation to Haiti.

G.P. Tosses Salad

In her GOOP newsletter today, Gwyneth Paltrow shared with us her most favoritest recipe for Vietnamese salad, a “healthy, quick salad [that] is crunchy and has lots of refreshing flavors”:



G.P. said she “wanted to learn how to do it because I could come home from work and make it in 15 minutes and have a gorgeous, fresh, healthy meal.” It’s not as fun as watching her handle a chicken, but it’s informative. (I wonder if FunnyOrDie.com will spoof this, too.)

I want to learn how to make it because she says I should.

See Ya, Rob

Calista Flockhart can’t catch a break on TV’s Brothers & Sisters.

After dealing with a strained marriage (and flirting with an affair with that sexy guy from the late Eli Stone whose name I can’t remember for the life of me), and battling cancer, Flockhart’s on-screen husband, Rob Lowe, will forsake her later this season.

Lowe, who plays Sen. Robert McCallister, reportedly felt underused on the show, and asked to be released from his contract, a wish ABC was happy to grant.

The network, however, wants to keep in touch with the actor, and is supposedly offering him his own show.

There’s no word on how Lowe will exit the show yet, but I wouldn’t mind it one bit if this paves the way back for the guy from Eli Stone to come back and mingle with the Walker clan. He’s sooo handsome.

Update: The guy from Eli Stone is Matt Letscher.

Photo: MrsSpitSpouts.blogspot.com.

The Brits Have It

The BAFTA nominations were announced today, and as it obviously would, the critically acclaimed British film An Education – the one that made a star out of pixie-haired Carey Mulligan, the one I failed to catch at the theater – dominated with eight nods.

Having said that, though, it tied with Avatar and The Hurt Locker, the two front-runners stateside.

Click here for the complete list of nominees.

Photo: Sony Pictures Classics.

Webb Master

As speculated, Sony has tapped (500) Days of Summer director Marc Webb (pictured at right) to take on the Spider-Man franchise.

Now the question is: Who will play the new, younger Peter Parker? (The next chapter in the series will be a reboot set in high school, you see.)

Word on the blogosphere is Webb has his eye on Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense).

Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.

The Face of the Daddy Issues

William Baldwin is going to play Serena’s (Blake Lively) dad on Gossip Girl.

The former Dirty Sexy Money star is set to play the pivotal role of Serena and Eric’s (Connor Paolo) estranged father, William van der Woodsen, when the CW show comes back from winter break this spring.

Baldwin reportedly is booked to appear in at least three episodes.

Sounds like the homestretch of the season is going to be all drama for the Upper East Side’s It Girl.

Photo: EW.com.

She Packs a Mean...Sandwich?

Jennifer Lopez may be coming to a small screen near us?

I guess girlfriend has to afford her “Louboutins” somehow, right.

The actress is in talks to guest on the Golden Globe-winning Glee later this season.

“I have a meeting with [her] in a couple weeks,” said show co-creator Ryan Murphy at the Golden Globes (click here for more scoop on what the show is preparing next). “She wants to come on. We want her to be a cafeteria lady.”

As for that other diva of pop that’s (sorta) coming to Glee, the one and only Queen of Pop herself, Madonna?

“We are shooting [that episode] right now, [it’s] a tribute to Madonna,” Murphy said. “She may or may not be in the show. [And w]e are doing a great number with Jane Lynch and Olivia Newton-John. They are going to do ‘Physical.’”

Don’t shoot your stunt-casting wad too soon now, Murphy.

Photo: Babble.com.

He’s a Fashion Baller

It would be rude to let Megan Fox have all the Emporio Armani Underwear fun, wouldn’t it?

So, as announced, the company also has hired Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo for the new men’s campaign, replacing one baller (the kinda O-V-E-R David Beckham), with another.

Said Giorgio Armani of Ronaldo, “For me, he is the essence of youth – spontaneous, exciting, a real maverick.”

And hot. Don’t forget quite hot.

Photo: NYMag.com.

Getting His Chaps in Orbit

Jeez, I escape to L.A. for a few days, and that’s when Daniel Craig decides to make news.

The actor is mulling over taking the lead role in Cowboys & Aliens now that Robert Downey Jr. has left the movie to focus on the Sherlock Holmes sequel.

Which reminds me: I still have to go see Sherlock Holmes.

Directed by Jon Favreau (the Iron Man movies) and produced by Steven Spielberg, the movie’s about an alien invasion within the setting of the 1800s Wild West.

Photo: LeTintinMovie.com.

I Almost Was Golden

So I capped my week in Los Angeles by not going to the Golden Globes last Sunday.

It was weird being in the natural habitat of the stars while they were out there being their fabulous selves, first going to the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards to kiss each other (good going, Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep) last Friday, and then to the Globest just seven minutes away from where I’m (still) staying on Sunday.

And although I wasn’t at the Beverly Hilton, I did watch and thought it was great to see Mo’Nique (pictured at right) win for Precious, loved that Bullock took home her first Globe for Best Actress (in a Drama) for The Blind Side, and got a kick out of the fact that, obviously, the Hollywood Foreign Press likes their quirky (and know who will give a good speech) since they gave Robert Downey Jr. some hardware for Sherlock Holmes.

But I probably should reserve judgment, though, since I haven’t seen the movie yet, huh.

Moving on....

I was sorta shocked that Avatar beat The Hurt Locker in the Best Drama and Best Director races, and that on the TV side Glee won its little heart out, and Julianna Margulies was named Best Actress for her dramatic work on The Good Wife.

Click here for a complete list of winners.

On an aside, being in L.A. gave me the chance to catch up with family and friends, spot Derek Hough validating his parking ticket at The Grove, see Tinseltown for the first time, go to a taping of Chelsea Lately (the one with the guys and girls from Jersey Shore), spot Ryan Cabrera up in the hills, eat super-great food (I see what all the fuzz is about when it comes to In-N-Out, for instance, and adored Michael Mina’s XIV), do lunch (because you do lunch here) a few tables away from Vanna White, hike for the first time and spot Famke Jannsen, get a great pair of pants at a great sale, wait for a table next to Danielle Panabaker, have brunch in front of Bryan Singer, stand in line for the restroom next to maybe-Adam Brody, and spot Alice in Wonderland star Mia Wasikowska, who just cut her long locks, as I power-walked by a café.

It also allowed me have a total blond moment when I showed up at LAX ready to fly back to Miami on Monday night, only to find out that my flight back is scheduled for Tuesday night.

I had to consider it a hilarious dress rehearsal.

Only in L.A.

Seriously, that has never happened before.

Photo: EW.com.

Simply Irresistible, Pt. 64

OK, Jesus Luz, I get it: You’re ridikolously hot.

And good for you, Madonna!

The model has gotten his own spread and Q&A feature for the new issue of Interview magazine.

That, or M got it for him.

But who cares about the deets, right? Not when there’s some bondage and one lone sexy white sheet involved.

Photo: NYMag.com.

SJP Hearts Halston

The fashion world is abuzz: Sarah Jessica Parker wil be taking on…a job at Halston Heritage.

No, not as a needle-and-thread gofer – the smart money is on a creative director title.

How very Lindsay Lohan at Ungaro.

The union between the actress and the fashion house’s secondary line, which features archival looks, makes total sense since girlfriend’s prominently sporting a sure-to-be-flying-off-the-racks white little Halston Heritage number (pictured at right) in the poster and trailer for the upcoming Sex and the City 2.

So It!

Photo: JessicaSieff.wordpress.com.

The List, Pt. 18

In: Bradley Cooper’s torso.

So Five Minutes Ago: Hugh Jackman’s arms.

O-V-E-R: David Beckham’s legs.

But Is He Friendly?

What do Ewan McGregor, Kim Cattrall, Olivia Williams (TV’s Dollhouse), Jim Belushi, Tom Wilkinson, and Pierce Brosnan have in common?

Roman Polanski, that’s what.

The actors all star in the legally embattled film director’s upcoming The Ghost, an adaptation of Robert Harris’ novel in which McGregor plays Brosnan’s ghost-writer.

The film is set to open on Feb. 19, and no, Polanski isn’t expected to go on a press tour.

Photo: AceShowbiz.com.

Old Friends, New Movie

Charlie Wilson’s War co-stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts will reunite in Larry Crowne, a film about a middle-aged man who’s forced to find a new career.

Hanks is writing and directing the project.

This will be the actor’s first such venture since 1996’s That That You Do!.

I smell a potential big hit for the two....

Photo: SMH.com.au.

So Sticky, So Sweet...So on DVD

Madonna’s latest stage extravaganza, the “Sticky & Sweet Tour,” is coming to DVD and Blu-Ray on March 30.

Do you love it, or do you love it?

The Queen of Pop’s “Sticky & Sweet Tour” was the most successful tour by a solo artist in history, and was seen by more than 3.5 million fans, including yours truly (natch), in 32 countries around the world.

Filmed in Buenos Aires, Argentina, over four days, to a crowd exceeding 256,000 fans, the DVD also includes 30 minutes of exclusive behind-the-scenes footage filmes during the course of the tour.

Photo: MadonnaTribe.com.

First Came the Girl, Now the Bad Boy

Peter Sarsgaard – is it...something that I just wrote that name without double-checking its spelling?

Anyway, Peter Sarsgaard is in talks to join Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively in Green Lantern.

The actor would play the villainous Dr. Hector Hammond.

Production is set to get underway in March.

Photo: DaemonsMovies.com.

Fantastic Ms. Fox

It’s official: Megan Fox is the new face (and body) of Emporio Armani Underwear.

The actres is turning heads in the company’s new, oh-so-sexy black-and-white pictorials, which will be unveiled next month on billboards in fashion meccas like New York, Tokyo, and Milan.

Said Giorgio Armani of her choice of model, “Megan is young and sexy and has a lot of spirit, making her the perfect choice for the collections.”

If you say so, Signor Armani. If you say so.

Photo: People.com.

Cut at the Spider Legs

Not so amazing, after all.

Production on the troubled Spider-Man 4 got dealt a major double-blow yesterday when it was announced that the franchise’s director, Sam Raimi, and its star, Tobey Maguire, have left the project for good.

There’s no word yet on who will take over for them...or whether the films’ leading lady, Kirsten Dunst, remains attached.

Sony will proceed, however, with a new filmmaking team for Spider-Man 4 with a script that puts the conflicted young superhero back in high school.

Yep – Peter Parker’s getting the reboot, and Raimi has gone on the gracious record saying, “I know they will do a terrific job” on the movie, which is now set to open in summer 2012.

Photo: Snarkerati.com.

Update: The franchise’s reboot is being planned as “a more gritty, contemporary redo of the series,” with directors such as (500) Days of Summer’s Marc Webb, Seabiscuit’s Gary Ross, and Michael Bay (no!) being unofficially considered for the job.

At It at Slippery Again

Eva Mendes and Jamie Dornan want you to lust after them but good.

The two are doing it again – another season as the faces and bodies of Calvin Klein, that is.

This time around, though, they are modeling denim, but the whole thing still is oh-so-sexy and makes me wanna oil up and roll around on the ground (thank you, Steven Klein).

I’m so hot and bothered right now.

Photo: NYMag.com.

Harsh But...

It’s back to being Mr. Charlize Theron for Stuart Townsend.

The actor has left Kenneth Branagh’s Thor because of creative differences.

What’s with this guy, anyway? He also left The Lord of the Rings trilogy citing the same reason. Odd much?

Joshua Dallas (pictured at right) will now play Fandral, an ally of the Norse god played by Chris Hemsworth in the blockbuster. Production on the movie began today, btw.

Thor will open on May 6, 2011 – Spider-Man 4’s old opening date.

Photo: FoxTV.it.

Way to Crush Me, John

The man we Sex and the City fans know and love as Aidan Shaw, John Corbett, is shooting down rumors that he’ll appear in the movie’s sequel this summer.

Rumor had it Aidan would run into Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) while the girls got away in Morocco.

“I wasn’t [there while they shot the movie],” the actor said over the weekend. “I was in Istanbul about six years ago, and somebody put a picture up and said I was Morocco.”

Well consider my heart broken, Corbett.

Photo: EW.com.

Jay’s Down on the Hay, And Bringing Conan Down with Him

“I can confirm, starting Feb. 12, The Jay Leno Show will no longer air at 10 p.m.”

And with those words, Jeff Gaspin, the chairman of NBC, confrmed over the weekend what everyone knew and expected.

Gaspin said that, “While [The Jay Leno Show] was performing at acceptable levels for the network, it did not meet our affiliates’ needs, and we realized we had to make a change. My goal right now is to keep Jay, Conan [O'Brien], and Jimmy [Fallon] as part of our late-night lineup.

“I have spoken to all of them and proposed that Leno move to 11:35, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien to 12:05 [which probably means it should be renamed The This Morning Show], and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon would then start at 1:05.

“As much as I’d like to tell you we have a done deal, that’s not true,” Gaspin added. “The talks are ongoing. [But] I hope and expect, before the Olympics begin, we will have everything set. I can’t imagine we won’t.”

You screwed the pooch, NBC, and worst of all, you’re screwing Conan O’Brien in the process, which is not cool at all.

Photo: LittleDistractions.wordpress.com.

Seeing the Light

The Green Lantern movie just got a little bit more gorgeous.

Gossip Girl star Blake Lively has been cast in the blockbuster opposite Ryan Reynolds.

Production is scheduled to begin this spring with Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) directing.

Photo: FanPop.com.

Time for the A-Game

The trailer for next summer’s sure-to-be-a-hit A-Team movie has dropped, and it looks goood (check out Bradley Cooper at the 0:56 mark – dang!):



The movie, just as the TV show upon which it’s based, follows the members of an elite military unit looking to clear their names in the eyes of the military, which suspects them of a crime they didn’t commit.

Liam Neeson, District 9’s Sharlto Copley, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and Jessica Biel co-star.

A group of veterans from the war in Iraq looks to clear their name with the U.S. military, who suspect the four men of committing a crime for which they were framed.

The A-Team opens on June 11.