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.

NPH on Gay Parenthood

Neil Patrick Harris is putting the kibosh on the rumor that he and his partner David Burtka are itching to become parents. Not quite just yet, at least.

“We’d make very good parents,” he told New York. “We yin and yang very well. I’m just bowled over by him. I’m his forever protector, and I’m happiest when he’s happy.”

Awww!

Photo: People.com.

It’s the It Movie of the Fall

As expected, a sure-to-be-a-hot-ticket documentary chronicling the lead-up to the late Michael Jackson’s never-happened “This Is It Tour” is a-comin’ this fall, and its trailer made its debut during last night’s MTV VMAs



Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT is due out on Oct. 28.

Get your tickets early – it’ll only play in movie theaters for two weeks.

Tickets go on sale on Sept. 27.

VMA Gossip About M

I’m hearing that Madonna may defy convention (and gravity, as usual) at tonight’s MTV VMAs by – gasp! – walking the red carpet and doing pre-show interviews.

The Queen of Pop is attending the ceremony at Radio City Music Hall in the Big Apple to kinda sorta introduce Janet Jackson, who will open the show with a tribute to the late King of Pop, her brother Michael.

MTV supposedly had wanted M to do the tribute (because who else could), but I hear the Jackson family is very involved with that part of the program and they...suggested that Janet do it.

I’m also hearing that Madonna has put her own stamp on her introduction – nobody tells the Queen what to say, after all – and that part of it will include a little nod to a performer who has influenced many acts working today...a performer, who like her, wanted to rule the world. And then, she won’t ask the audience to give it up for Janet Jackson...not specifically, not by name. As least she is not expected to.

Oh, and ever since it was announced that M will be attending the show, all the other performers have been busy upping the ante. For instance, Lady GaGa’s wetting her leotard preparing “a very Madonna-like performance of ‘Paparazzi.’” And Pink’s gonna get her acrobatics on when she performs...“Sober”?

Photo: FashionTime.hu.

Update 1: Are Shakira and Pink wearing the same dress? Yep. Balmain. Hello!

Interesting: Is Balmain the It designer now that Madonna wore it in her “Celebration” video?

Update 2: Great speech, M. Personal and real and touching.

Update 3: Was that Chris Judd, Jennifer Lopez’s second ex-husband, dancing with Janet Jackson?

And by that way, was that opening number kinda totally lame?

Update 4: No, you know what was lame: Kanye West ruining Taylor Swift’s moment.

Kanye, you’re an ass. I hope you’re proud of yourself – you probably just made a teenaged girl cry. It’s one thing for you to lose your s--- when you, well...lose, but Beyoncé’s an independent woman. She doesn’t need your help, and she didn’t want it, either.

A--!

Update 5: Suck on that, KW! Taylor Swift rocked two subway stations, not to mention one heckuva subway ride, and showed you why she won. You can apologize now.

Update 6: Sorry, Lady GaGa, but you tried too hard, dear. You ain’t taking Madonna’s crown tonight.

Update 7: I loved what Green Day did on stage. Security looked like they were loving it.

Update 8: Twilight’s Taylor Lautner does look so much bigger than when I met him last November. His suit looks like it’s about to burst.

Update 9: Go, Beyoncé with your big bad safe self!

Your bodyguard was kinda douchy on the red carpet (did y’all see that?). And Kanye West, well...you know. But your Brazilian wax technician deserves a raise!

Update 10: Kanye West has issued an apology to Taylor Swift.

I hope he enjoyed the crow.

Update 11: In case you care about who won what, click here.

No, Paris, There Won’t Be an Opening Party…

The end must be near: Paris Hilton has made the dictionary.

The venerable Oxford Dictionary of Quotations has included Hilton’s uninspired “Dress cute wherever you go, life is too short to blend in” in its latest edition.

“So cool I have a quote in the dictionary,” she tweeted.

Mmm…. I really thought it’d be “That’s hot.”

Photo: HollywoodCrap.com.

Braving the Seven Seas Again

Disney has announced that the fourth installment of its moneymaking Pirates of the Caribbean franchise will be subtitled On Stranger Tides.

The Johnny Depp vehicle is due out in summer 2011.

Neither Orlando Bloom nor Keira Knightley is expected to appear in the fourthquel, which I’m sure will deal with some treacherous waters.

Photo: MSNBC.MSN.com.

Update: Thieves have ransacked the HMS Bounty, a period ship that appeared in the last two Pirates movies.

Whaddya think: Case of the what goes around...? Or case of the is nothing sacred anymore?

And the Schmemmy Goes to…

Not Kathy Griffin.

The comedian didn’t pick up her third Emmy in a row for My Life on the D-List at last night’s 61st Annual Primetime Creative Arts Emmys – thanks, A&E’s Intervention.

Meanwhile, Tina Fey scored some guest-actress-in-a-comedy-series gold for her spoof of Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live, thanking her lifelong-Republicans mom and dad in the process.

“They thought the first four sketches were very funny,” she said. “The last two were in their words, ‘Enough already.’”

Justin Timberlake won for his role as host of SNL.

For a complete list of winners, click here.

Photo: MonstersAndCritics.com.

The Quarterback, the Bombshell, and the Baby

Tom Brady has confirmed that his übermodel wife Gisele Bündchen is pregnant, so congratulations go to the happy, good-looking couple.

The baby’s due in December.

“I told her...no Sundays,” Brady joked during an interview airing today on SportsCenter and Monday Night Countdown.

Photo: TVGuide.com.

Shifting Into a Movie Star

True Blood’s Sam, a.k.a. Sam Trammell, is making the transition into movies and will co-star in The Details, an indie comedy with Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Banks, and Laura Linney.

The movie follows couple’s disagreement about how to handle a raccoon infestation.

Sounds pretty simple and mundane, so it should be pretty funny.

Photo: TrueBloodNet.com.

Bitter, Bad Cold

A few years ago, four or five, I saw the Pet Shop Boys in concert in Miami Beach. It was a good show, very enjoyable. They played in town on Wednesday again, and I received not one but two invitations to go see them, which I turned down – I’d already committed to seeing today’s big movie Whiteout, and it’s not like I’m that into them.

I so should’ve gone, for I know they would’ve entertained me a heckuva lot more.

Whiteout, starring Kate Beckinsale, whom I know deserves better having seen Nothing But the Truth (rent it, it’s good), is a below-average thriller that somehow lucked out of being a movie made for cable. Or worse…network.

Beckinsale, who’s clearly the garnish here (shame on the studio for dangling such a pretty carrot in front of men), plays Carrie Stetko, a U.S. Marshal stationed in Antarctica.

Girlfriend’s the only law enforcement in this unforgiving territory, and she’s about to go back to home when – uh oh, talk about baaad timing (you see, there’s a major whiteout coming) – she stumbles onto the icy continent’s first homicide.

The shocking discovery leads to an investigation that plunges the marshal into an even more bizarre mystery, and, of course, the revelation of secrets long-buried deep beneath the ice – secrets (i.e., treasures, natch) that someone believes are still worth killing for.

As Stetko races to find the killer before he finds her, winter already closes in – but, sadly, you’ll be too bored to give a frak.

Seriously, I’d be complaining if Whiteout had been a by-the-numbers joint, but that would’ve been preferable to the makes-no-sense mess it is.

Urgh, what a dumb movie.

This one will leave you cold for all the wrong reasons, so skip it.

My Rating *1/2

Photo: Warner Bros.

A Vogue Idea

So, yeah – I totally mined the Sex and the City episode guide to come up with a fitting headline for my review of The September Issue, but the truth is that title of a fourth-season SATC episode can best sum up what filmmaker R.J. Cutler had when he thought about making a documentary about the travails of Vogue editrix Anna Wintour.

Cutler, by the way, shot the thing two years ago, so I’m sure you’ll be watching the movie with ever trendy nostalgia-tinged eyes given the current TETs (that’s tough economic times).

Nevertheless, though, spending a remarkably taut and precise 88 minutes lost in Wintour’s realm at Vogue is a treat for nostalgics and cinephiles alike.

The September Issue is a documentary about the single most important figure in the $300 billion global fashion industry – that would be Wintour, natch. It chronicles the year Cutler spent with her and her team as they readied the record-setting September 2007 issue of Vogue, the largest they’ve produced, down to the last brutal nitpick of cover girl Sienna Miller’s neck and teeth.

But the film, which is fascinating and funny and insightful, transcends Wintour. It’s about Vogue, of course, but it’s also about an industry that can make people very nervous (as Wintour puts it), and it’s about what it really takes to assemble an iconic piece of pop and put it out there for all to see and dissect.

That all of this goes back to Wintour is a testament to her significance and power. “Anna’s like…Madonna,” says designer Thakoon. She’s an influence.

We have this image of her, don’t we – we don’t call her an editrix for nothing – and this film debunks it a little bit.

Wintour’s a complicated woman of the world. She’s able and smart and tough, not to mention successful and respected. I could say she’s feared, but I think misunderstood (by some) is more like it.

She’s impervious, indeed, but she’s also quite fair with her colleagues. Just ask Vogue’s longtime creative director Grace Coddington.

She and Wintour have worked together for decades. They understand each other and they respect each other. Coddington probably knows better than anyone what is Wintour’s taste, let alone the pressure she’s under, so when we see in the doc that Wintour has 86d some of the (very expensive) photos Coddington has produced, we get a sense that she’s not making those cuts to be a bitch.

Wintour has been tasked – and proven (she’s the one who thought to put celebrities instead of models on the cover of fashion magazines) – with the task of being a tastemaker. Designers don’t make a move without consulting her.

She knows her s---, and she’s good at it, too. She rules with an iron, if perfectly accessorized fist, and if she were a man no one would ever call her “the devil.”

The September Issue is a breezy watch, and that’s because I don’t think Wintour was too keen on revealing too much about herself. But when she did, like when she said her family’s “amused” by what she does, it reminds us, it shows us that she’s very much human.

Her mystique and allure remains well-preserved, though. We’ve learned just enough not to vilify her so much.

I really enjoyed this doc because of the people in it – you really haven’t lived until you see André Leon Talley leaving Vera Wang’s high-five hanging – and because I’m in that magazine-production world, although in a considerably much smaller scale.

It captured the essence of the process so well, Cutler should be proud – and nominated.

My Rating ****

Photo: Roadside Attractions.

A Fringe Fall

Can I just tell you how psyched I am that Entertainment Weekly decided to feature Anna Torv and Joshua Jackson of the Fox show Fringe on the cover of its annual Fall TV Preview?

The magazine featured Gossip Girl last year, which at this time last year was but like, a buzzy show on the brink of mass fascination and consumption.

A simmer rather than a boil.

This is why I subscribe, EW! I am so ready to get burned, and hope that y’all are, too.

Photo: EW.com.

The List, Pt. 2

In: Loving Melrose Place.

So Five Minutes Ago: Jumping on the True Blood train.

O-V-E-R: Catching up with Ugly Betty.

Photo: CWTV.com (Melrose Place).

Lauren Bacall Gets her Oscar

OK, so it’s an honorary Oscar, but still....

Lauren Bacall, a Best Supporting Actress nominee for The Mirror Has Two Faces, will be among those presented with honorary Oscars at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ inaugural Governors Awards event on Nov. 14.

Producer-executive John Calley (The Remains of the Day, The Da Vinci Code), producer-director Roger Corman (The Little Shop of Horrors), and cinematographer Gordon Willis (The Godfather franchise) have been named as recipients of honorary Oscars as well.

For the first time, the honorary awards will be handed out at the November event and just acknowledged during next March’s Oscar live telecast.

Photo: Blavish.com.

But Can She Make Us Laugh?

It’s official: Megan Fox will host the season premiere of Saturday Night Live on Sept. 26 (the same night I’ll be enjoying a delicious Daniel Craig-Hugh Jackman combo on the Broadway stage).

U2 will be the musical guests.

The following week, Ryan Reynolds will host with Lady GaGa performing, then Drew Barrymore (just in time for her to promote her directorial debut, Whip It) and Regina Spektor, followed by Gerard Butler and Shakira.

Are you excited about this lineup?

Photo: Men.Style.com.

Sex and the Brit

The Sex and the City sequel has cast incredibly hunky British actor Max Ryan (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Death Race) as Rikard, a European architect who “crosses paths” with Kim Cattrall’s Samantha.

Sounds intriguing, sounds sexy!

I guess Ms. Jones won’t be missing Smith (Jason Lewis) too much.

Photo: Film.onet.pl.

Carrie & Co. Do the ’80s

OMG – look at Sarah Jessica Parker get her Madonna on as Carrie Bradshaw, and Kim Cattrall walk on the wild side as Samantha Jones, on the set of the Sex and the City sequel.

Now click here to see Charlotte’s preppy look and Miranda’s power-suited moves.

Looks like the sequel’s gonna be eye-catching fun!

Photo: People.com.

Update: Click here for a look at all the SATC sequel fashion so far.

GOOP’s Back – And Making Me Eat!

Gwyneth Paltrow took a little break from GOOPing this summer – never again, G.P.! – but now she’s back with a fresh recipe for us to try and make.

Check her out making bibimpop.

I know – what? Check it out:

Papa Mel, Mama Jodie

Maverick co-stars and real-life BFF Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster are getting a kid together.

Nah, not like that, you silly rabbit – in a new movie, natch.

The two will parent Star Trek’s Anton Yelchin in The Beaver, an indie dark com. Gibson will play a depressed man who feels better when wearing – get this – a beaver hand puppet.

Foster will play the unhappy wife/mom, and she will also direct the movie, which is set for release in late 2010 or early 2011.

Photo: PinkBLVD.com.

Fashion Goes Out on the Town

Today marks the start of New York Fashion Week, and industry heavyweights are marking the occasion with Fashion’s Night Out 2009, a global initiative promoting retail, restore consumer confidence, and celebrating fashion.

U.S. and international editions of Vogue are coordinating evening extravaganzas in their respective world fashion capitals, and, of course, they have invited a bunch of chic A-Listers to join the party, including Anna Wintour, Donna Karan, Diane Von Furstenberg, Vera Wang, Sarah Jessica Parker, Diddy, Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Ashley Olsen, model Daria Werbowy, Isaac Mizrahi, and Proenza Schouler’s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez:



Someone forgot to invite Lindsay Lohan....

A Lesbian Judge America Can Support

Ellen DeGeneres has been named American Idol’s new fourth judge. The comedian replaces Paula Abdul, who left the show last month.

DeGeneres revealed the news to her studio audience during a taping of her talk show yesterday, and reassured them she’s not forsaking her day job in favor of hanging out with Simon Cowell & Co.

“This is so exciting for me,” she said. “We’ve been dealing with this for the last couple of weeks and I’ve been dying to tell everyone. It’s just been so hard to keep it a secret, and we just finally got the OK, and I’m so excited. It is going to be so much fun.”

DeGeneres is so excited to join American Idol.

“I have not missed one episode of that show,” she added. “I’ve watched every single thing.”

Guest judges for the audition phase of the competition include Victoria Beckham, Mary J. Blige, Shania Twain, Avril Lavigne, Neil Patrick Harris, Katy Perry, and Joe Jonas. The show comes back on the air in January.

And yep, I say this is a major coup for the GLBT community. I mean, a lesbian in such high a position of power? Change is in the air. Still.

Photo: PhotoBucket.com.

Update 1: Fans are split on the DeGeneres-on-American Idol matter.

And some still want Abdul back.

Aw, pobrecitos....

Update 2: Paula Abdul is wishing Ellen DeGeneres “only the best of luck” with her new gig, no matter what’s being said.

Atta sport!

Mandy Gets Her Princess On

Sweet-voiced Mandy Moore has signed on to voice the title character Disney’s 3D-animated Rapunzel.

And get this, Zachary Levi (TV’s Chuck) has been cast as the voice of the bandit who finds himself on the road with the rebellious, looong-haired princess.

The project was previously known as Rapunzel Unbraided, but John Lasseter, Pixar’s chief creative officer, rebooted it after he came on board.

The new version “picks up with the princess, famous for her 70 feet of golden hair, after she’s been stolen from her parents’ castle as an infant and imprisoned. Now a teenager, Rapunzel escapes and goes on the run with a bandit as her captor pursues them.”

Rapunzel is expected in theaters just in time for the holidays next year.

Photo: MagXone.com.

Hey Mr. Hot DJ

He can act, he can look hot, and now True Blood’s breakout star Alexander Skarsgård can DJ, too?

Life is just not fair.

The Swedish actor, best know for playing Eric on the HBO show, recently guest-DJd on L.A. indie station KCRW…because why not, right?

Photo: FanPop.com.

Gleeful Stud

Tonight’s premiere of Glee on Fox means two things: More music in our lives, and more Matthew Morrison.

You didn’t think I was into this gem of a show because of the make-me-sing musical pieces, did you? I’m in it for Mr. Schuester (Morrison), McKinley High’s Spanish teacher-turned-Glee Club director, too.

I mean, look at him.

The promise of the studly actor busting a move to Kanye West’s “Gold Digger,” not to mention a glance at his biceps, is just too good to pass up.

Photo: TVGuide.com.

Prêt-à-Lindsay

In a decision that shan’t surprise anyone with an Internet connection and lots of free time, Emanuel Ungaro has tapped Lindsay Lohan as “artistic advisor” alongside a new chief designer Estrella Archs.

Esteban Cortazar, Ungaro’s head designer for the past two years, reportedly clashed clashing with the fashion house’s management over marketing strategy, and is said not to have been happy with the decision to bring Lohan on board.

But, as Heidi Klum always says, in fashion, one day you're in, and the next day, you're out.

La Lohan plans to take Ungaro to a “younger place” with a harder fashion edge.

“When I’m involved in a project, I give my all to it,” L2 told Women’s Wear Daily. “I’ve always played a big part in what I wear, the costumes. Clothing is something that’s so expressive in so many ways…. To be in a position where I’m working with a fashion house in Paris sets it apart from every other celebrity brand.”

Right…. Somewhere, a fashionista just died a little.

Photo: TheInsider.

Jennifer Hudson’s a Diva

Uh duh – of course Jennifer Hudson had to be added to the roster of performers of the upcoming Divas show airing live on VH-1 on Sept. 17 from the Brooklyn Academy of Music Howard Gilman Opera House.

Hudson joins fellow American Idol alumnae Kelly Clarkson and Jordin Sparks in the lineup, as well as Adele, Miley Cyrus, and Leona Lewis.

Additional special musical guests for the show include Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, Cyndi Lauper, and Martina McBride.

Kathy Griffin, Toni Braxton, Ryan Kwanten (HBO’s True Blood), Lauren Conrad, Whitney Port (MTV’s The City), and the cast of the upcoming Fame (Asher Book, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Kherington Payne, Naturi Naughton, and Walter Perez) have all joined the Divas show as presenters.

Mmm…Ryan Kwanten.

Photo: StraightFromThea.com.

Simply Irresistible, Pt. 56

Wow – Thomas Calabro is 50 years old? And Laura Leighton’s 41?

Looking good, you two….

The erstwhile Dr. Michael Mancini and Sydney Andrews reprise their roles on The CW’s Melrose Place reboot premiering tonight.

Photo: CWTV.com.

The Fab Four Are Back!

Bring on the cosmos: Kristin Davis has finally joined SJP & Co. on the set of the Sex and the City sequel.

Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, and Davis were photographed together for the first time on the New York City set today.

The SATC sequel is set to strut into movie theaters next May.

Photo: UsMagazine.com.

Remembering Bea

Angela Lansbury will host a memorial in honor of her Mame co-star, the late, great Bea Arthur, on Broadway on Sept. 14. Arthur died in April.

The event will feature musical numbers and remembrances from Rosie O’Donnell, Chita Rivera, Jerry Stiller, Rue McClanahan, Anne Meara, among others.

Something tells me they’ll all be thanking Bea for being a friend.

Photo: TheDailyBeast.com.

What Happens in the Alien Fugee Camp…

There were two aliens-among-us movies in theaters this summer: a bad one everyone would see (the Transformers sequel), and a really, seriously good one only a few cared to discover.

That would be District 9, a smaller and smarter Peter Jackson-produced cult hit that I waited oh-too-long to see.

By now everyone who wanted to check out the film, which opened last month, probably has, so I’ll keep this brief: I hearted it.

H to the E to the A to the R to the T it.

I haven’t been this thrilled by a sci-fi showcase – one with an apartheid allegory, no less – in ages. The fact that it reportedly cost like, $30 million to produce, and that it comes from an unknown South African director (Neill Blomkamp) who plucked a friend (Sharlto Copley) to star in it, well…it makes it all the more great.

District 9 made me feel like a kid again, especially the scene from which the photo at left was taken.

If you haven’t seen it yet, do. Soon.

My Rating ****

Photo: Sony Pictures.

Whatever John Krasinski Says I’ll Do

The adorable John Krasinski (TV’s The Office, Away We Go) is making his directorial debut with an adaptation of David Foster Wallace’s Brief Interviews with Hideous Men – and can I just tell you, once you check out the trailer below, you’ll want to do anything he ever says.

For now, though, just watch the trailer:



The film stars Julianne Nicholson as a woman who, after her boyfriend leaves her with little explanation, dedicates her anthropological dissertation to figuring out what the hell is going on in men’s brains.

Some of the men she studies include Will Arnett, Dominic Cooper, Bobby Cannavale, Timothy Hutton, Christopher Meloni (TV’s Law & Order: SVU), Max Minghella, Ben Shenkman, and Krasinski himself.

Lucky hen.

M Joins the VMA Party

The Madonnasphere is abuzzin’ with news that the Queen of Pop will be attending but not performing at next week’s MTV Video Music Awards.

It’s something that’s been gossiped about, so, perhaps, there’s plenty of truth to the tidbit I heard about how MTV wanted M to pay tribute to the late King of Pop Michael Jackson, since only the Queen could....

We’ll see, huh.

Photo: Horiwood.com.

Gunning for Awesome

Angie Harmon is following in Brandon Routh and Kristin Kreuk’s footsteps and joining the cast of Chuck next season for a guest-starring gig in the fourth episode.

Harmon will play Sydney, a spy for the Ring who wants to take out Ryan McPartlin’s Captain Awesome.

Chuck’s third season’s sounding, well...pretty awesome!

Photo: Style.com.

Kissing and Telling

Actor Neal Bledsoe is spilling the beans on kissing Gossip Girl’s Ed Westwick.

We won’t get to see the man-on-man smooch until mid-October, but Bledsoe – who plays a gay NYU alumnus whom Blair (Leighton Meester) pimps Chuck out to – answered when he was asked all about it.

I am loving that his character is going to have “a very unexpected and darker motivation about [the kiss].”

Click here to read more and find out how many takes it took the actors to shoot the scene.

Photo: SeattleGayScene.com.

The List, Pt. 1

In: Embracing Whitney.

So Five Minutes Ago: Missing Gwyneth.

O-V-E-R: Hating Speidi.

Photo: People.com.

Unglamorous Girl

For a little while now I’ve been reading about Mo’Nique’s potential as an Academy Award Best Supporting Actress nominee.

Yep – Mo’Nique.

And let me tell you I’m absolutely loving it.

Mo’Nique will show us what she’s got in Nov. 6’s Precious, an indie that debuted at Sundance last winter to glowing, which to most may be a surprise because Precious was pretty much known going into the festival as another effort on Mariah Carey’s part.

The film follows the story of a young, poor girl (newcomer Gabourey Sidibe) who has been repeatedly raped and impregnated (at 16, she’s expecting her second) by her father and is emotionally abused by her mother (Mo’Nique).

It’s a gritty story, and a showcase for all the talent involved. I can’t wait to see it –this one’s at the top of my list for the fall movie season:

Factory Boy

I strongly dislike – I don’t want to say hate – to be disappointed by movies, and I hat…uhh…strongly dislike that Extract, Mike Judge’s latest, let me down because I really thought it was going to be funner, and because I wanted better for its star, Jason Bateman.

I’d waited a long time to see Extract, and I’m sad to say it didn’t overwhelm me. I enjoyed it just fine – but that’s kinda not what I thought it was aiming for, y’ know.

Mostly, I feel like the movie had some weird edits, especially in the beginning, with things happening off camera but getting mentioned on, that kinda sort of don’t help the fact that some of the characters are underwritten.

The workplace comedy tells the story of Joel (Bateman, doing a variation of his Michael Bluth shtick, which I do adore), the owner of a flavored extract factory who has to oversee a misanthropic band of misfits, like Beth Grant, who plays a whiny line worker; or J.K. Simmons, who’s just great as Joel’s doesn’t-know-anyone’s-name right hand; or Clifton Collins Jr., who balances the right mix of manic and ambitious as a well-meaning floor manager wannabe.

It must be said that Joel’s a desperate dude.

Wrangling the peeps at work leaves him spent at the end of the day, but lest you start thinking his home life is a walk in the park, I give you the truth: it ain’t.

After a long day at the factory, which has afforded him a very nice living, btw, he goes home to Suzie, his indifferent works-from-home wife (SNL’s Kristen Wiig) who tightens her sweatpants at 8 p.m. every day (i.e., closes the nookie shop), sending a frustrated Joel to the bar where he used to work to commiserate with Dean, an ol’ friend played by Ben Affleck in a scraggly wig.

Fed up, Joel decides to sell the company, and return the flirtations of Cindy, a new temp played by Mila Kunis…only after he has set up a bumbling gigolo (Dustin Milligan from TV’s 90210) to seduce Suzie. (Oh, and about that comment I made about some of the characters being underwritten: Cindy’s an example. Yeah, she’s a t--ef on wheels, but c’mon, Mike Judge, Kunis is billed second in the credits, and that’s all you gave her to do?)

You know, to absolve his own guilt – a plan that, of course, backfires on him more than a dozen times.

Extract has its moments, but not enough for me to say you should def go see it.

If you’re looking to see Bateman on the big screen, though, where he sooo clearly belongs, then yeah, by all means, go see this movie. You will laugh. And, best of all, you’ll get your Bateman fix.

Me, I’ll just re-watch his far more thoroughly enjoyable appearance on Letterman from earlier this week .

My Rating **

Photo: Miramax Films.

Peace at Last

Michael Jackson was finally laid to rest tonight.

Among those who arrived at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif., to pay their final respects were ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley, BFFs Elizabeth Taylor and Macaulay Culkin (with girlfriend Mila Kunis), and Chris Tucker.

The King of Pop died in June. This many weeks later, they finally did right by him.

Photo: ComUnArte.wordpress.com.

Daddy Can Be Cool, Too!

Madonna may take her kids on stage with her, but Guy Ritchie makes movies they can watch over and over (yeah, that was a dig at M – I’m capable of those).

Ritchie will follow up the upcoming Sherlock Holmes with Lobo, a movie about the mayhem-happy DC Comics interstellar bounty hunter.

Your move, Madonna.

Photo: WMagazine.com.

Bad Boy Goes Badder

Heroes resident bad boy and the Star Trek franchise’s reigning Spock, Zachary Quinto, is getting his NSFW on with a new FunnyOrDie.com video that you’ve got to see – and hear – to believe.

“For realsies.”

Do you likey? Is HOSTAGE: A Love Story with Zachary Quinto too wrong? Or is just right?

Photo: JetSetSocialite.com.

Flashbacks of a Fashion Victim

As production on the Sex and the City sequel moves along, fans will enjoy analyzing every single photo we get our wish-we-were-there eyes on trying to decipher some clues about the story.

I guess it’s safe to say that one of the very-’80s looks Sarah Jessica Parker will wear in the movie will be featured in a flashback. (How Square Pegs does SJP look at right?)

Because, you know, the ’80s are back (they always are, aren’t they?), but they’re not that back.

Something tells me we’re going to see Carrie’s big move to Manhattan....

Click here to see a more contemporary look.

Photo: EW.com.

Update 1: More photos from, I think, Day 2 of production reveal that Cynthia Nixon (Miranda) was on set, as were David Eigenberg (Steve) and Lynn Cohen (Magda).

And a baby. There was a baby on set. A blond, blue-eyed baby.

Update 2: And on Day 3, Kim Cattrall made the scene.

Update 3: Click here now to see SJP and Chris Noth in action. By the sound of the paparazzi's flashes, this movie is so more than anticipated, it needs a new word for anticipated.

Little Stars

Lourdes “Lola” Ciccone Leon and Rocco Ritchie, a.k.a. Madonna’s oldest children (pictured at right for a Vogue cover a few years back), made their concert debut on stage alongside mom in Tel Aviv today.

The true Princess and Prince of Pop joined the Queen on stage, she to play the piano during “Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You” and he to play DJ during “Music,” at the last stop of the second leg of M’s “Sticky & Sweet Tour.”

And let me tell you, they looked beyond on stage.

So natural, so…Madonna’s kids.

And yes, this is yet another M post. I obsess so you don’t have to.

Photo: MSNBC.MSN.com.

This Definitely Complicates Things…

Daniel Craig, who’s set to make his Broadway debut opposite Hugh Jackman in A Steady Rain later this month – an event I shan’t miss! – is said to have asked that personal security be available to shadow him at all times (Jackman is said not to have asked for the same).

Uh, how am I supposed to stalk him?

“Everybody thinks it’s funny because the truth is, he rarely gets approached by the public – especially now that he has the [porn-stache] for this role,” a production source said.

Way to complicate things for us, Daniel Craig. But where you see a deterrent, I see a challenge.

Photo: ThisIsLancashire.co.uk.

Keep On Going Back for More

Never one to stop, Madonna is said to be lining up her next project, a film that she plans to direct.

The Queen of Pop has her eyes set on a musical about American socialite Wallis Simpson, with Cate Blanchett in the title role, charting Simpson’s love affair with English King Edward III, who gave up the throne to marry her. (Dr. Who star David Tennant is reportedly M’s first choice to play Edward.)

It would be the singer’s second foray behind the camera since making her debut in 2008 with Filth and Wisdom.

Photo: TinyPic.com.

The Sex Affair Resumes

And this is how the blogosphere catches on fire….

Next summer’s Sex and the City sequel kicked off production this morning, sending fans looking for photos into overdrive.

They won’t find many, though (I know): Only look-sees of Sarah Jessica Parker have emerged.

SJP and writer-director Michael Patrick King were on set, shooting a few takes of the actress leaving the apartment building where Carrie and Big bought a place in the first movie.

“[Parker] comes out as Carrie Bradshaw, puts on her sunglasses, looks around, and starts walking,” a source said. “She looks pretty happy to be back at work.”

Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon weren’t at the location.

After I saw the photos, I couldn’t help but wonder: How much are we dying to see this movie!

Photo: EW.com.

Update: If you hurry you can see a photo of SJP and Chris Noth on Us Weekly’s site.

Feel My Temperature Rising…

The video for Madonna’s new single, “Celebration,” has arrived.

Directed by Jonas Åkerlund, the video will be available for free on iTunes through Sept. 3.

So get!

And check her out smooching Jesus Luz (and her cougar-on-the-loose moves, and, OMG, is she doing the Charo?):

Cute Balmain dress-Louboutins combo, huh.