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.

No End and No Beginning

Word on M Street is Madonna’s longtime publicist, Liz Rosenberg (who also has repped Cher and Stevie Nicks), will soon leave Warner Bros. Records, after 38 years, because the company can no longer...afford her.

I love it!

Rosenberg is said to be keen on becoming a free agent, and would remain tied to Warner Bros. as a consultant, which would come in handy for when she has to act as a liaison between them and M’s new home, Live Nation.

Said the kooky gal of all the buzz, “I don’t make comments about myself, and I can’t imagine where you heard that. I know that there are also rumors that I’ve been sleeping with George Clooney, but I’m not commenting on that, either.”

I love Liz (pictured at right with the Queen of Pop and her manager, Guy Oseary). She tells it like no one else.

Photo: CelebrityWonder.com.

A Princely Portrait

Prince William and Prince Harry have struck a pose.

The British royals’ first official double portrait was unveiled this week in London, showing them in all dashing and whatnot in their army uniforms from when they were fellow officers in the Household Cavalry.

“[This is] a behind-the-scenes glance at the human element of royal responsibility and to emphasize their brotherly relationship,” said artist Nicky Philipps.

Sandy Nairne, director of the National Portrait Gallery, London, which commissioned the piece, added that the portrait captured the two princes “formally dressed, but informally posed.”

It’s funny, I know, but having grown up with these two, reading about them in my mom’s magazines, I find them compelling. They’re like these two constants, so it excites me to see where they are in their lives in a most genuine way.

Having said that…I want a portrait, too!

Photo: People.com.

Do It, Ewan!

Moulin Rouge!'s Ewan McGregor is in talks to join Steven Soderbergh’s Knockout.

Do it, Ewan, do it!

Also negotiating to come on board are Michael Douglas, Dennis Quaid, and one of my favorite guys to spot in movies (because he’s so gosh darn handsome), Inglourious Basterds’ Michael Fassbender (get on the Google!).

The film, scheduled to start shooting in Feburary, will mark the feature debut of mixed martial arts star Gina Carano.

But back to McGregor, who will be seen this spring in I Love You Phillip Morris with Jim Carrey: Do it, Ewan, do it! Life is better when you’re on screen.

Photo: 1416AndCounting.files.wordpress.com.

Update: Channing Tatum is negotiating to join Knockout, which will see Carano play a spy who is betrayed by one of her teammates.

Tatum would step into the role of an agent in her spy cell, which means boyfriend – who just made news by recalling a painful accident that caused severe burns to his penis (insert your kiss-and-make-it better observation here) – will train with a Mossad agent for research.

Scarlett and Liev, Sitting on a Stage

As fans of both Broadway and hot girls probably know, Scarlett Johansson is adding her name to the list of A-Listers who are turning and have turned to the Great White Way in the past decade or so.

The actress is making her debut later this month, alongside Broadway vet – and super-sexy man – Liev Schreiber, in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge.

In the 1955 play, which focuses on a tightly knit Italian-American neighborhood in New York City, Tony winner Schreiber plays Eddie Carbone, a longshoreman from Red Hook, Brooklyn, obsessed with his niece, Catherine (Johansson).

“I’ve just been really impressed with her composure,” he said of her. “Broadway is a pressurized situation and we’ve had a really short rehearsal period. It’s really amazing watching her handle it so beautifully. I’m blown away by her.”

Here’s to audiences will be, too.

Photo: EW.com.

The Ones That They Want

The Directors Guild of America announced today its nominees for its DGA Award honoring the best director of 2009.

The five chosen ones are The Hurt Locker’s Kathryn Bigelow, Avatar’s James Cameron, Up in the Air’s Jason Reitman, Inglourious Basterds’ Quentin Tarantino, and, in a Golden Globe reversal, Precious’ Lee Daniels.

The DGA announcement follows that of the Producers Guild of America, which earlier this week recognized An Education, Avatar, District 9, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Invictus, Precious, Star Trek, Up, and
Up in the Air with nominations in its Best Picture race.

Mmm…the PGA list looks a lot like mine, which makes me smile.

Photo: Disney/Pixar.

The Pilot’s Back

Greg Grunberg, who co-stars on Heroes, f.k.a. one of TV’s most exciting shows, n.k.a. TV’s most tedious show – oh how far they’ve come…in the wrong way – is yapping all about…Lost.

The actor, a familiar face to fans of the J.J. Abrams oeuvre (Abrams is an executive producer on Lost, lest you forget), has confirmed that his ill-fated Oceanic pilot will play a role in the show’s Feb. 2 season premiere.

Huh? But he got his courtesy of the smoke monster in the show’s pilot!

“Well, with [Lost], they go back and forth in time, so you have no idea when and where the last season will take place,” Grunberg said. “I may get eaten all over again. It may be a flashback. It may be an alternate new reality where I am on the same flight but we don’t crash and I don’t get eaten. Maybe I’m a ghost. You never know.”

I guess we’ll have to watch, huh – that is if President Obama doesn’t throw a monkey wrench in our plans.

Oh, btw, in the same interview with EW.com’s Michael Ausiello, Grunberg says Heroes will see the light of a fifth season.

Fine, if you must.

Photo: DharmaSwanStation.wordpress.com.

What a Drag

Wilhelmina Slater meets her drag queen!

The Ugly Betty villainess’ upcoming plot line, in which she meets a drag queen who’s been shticking it all over town as the Mode editrix, sounded and now looks like it’s going to be a hoot and a half.

And who’s playing Vanessa Williams’ doppelgänger, Wilheldiva Hater?

That would be Chris Williams, the actress’ real-life brother, who said of the role, “I’m genetically programmed for [it]!”

According to Ugly Betty MVP, Michael Urie, “This side of bursting into flames, this show couldn’t get any gayer.”

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Photo: EW.com.

The Intricacies of Avatar Sex

Ever wondered how the Na’vi that inhabit Pandora in James Cameron’s blockbuster hit Avatar…do it?

Well, you’ll find out soon enough when the film comes out on DVD.

“That will be [an extra], if you want to see how,” Cameron said of a un-PG-13 sex scene between Neytiri, Zoë Saldana’s Na’vi princess, and Jake Sully’s (Sam Worthington) avatar.

Whatevs – can they also include the behind-the-scenes since, perhaps, there will be a shot or two or Worthington sans shirt?

Photo: 20th Century Fox.

Rock the Stage

American Idiot, the musical based on Green Day’s 2004 CD of the same name, is headed to Broadway.

The show will begin previews in March and will make its Great White Way debut in April, following a record-breaking run in California last fall.

American Idiot is under the direction of Michael Mayer, the Tony Award-winning director of Spring Awakening.

Photo: RollingStone.com.

Landing a Star

Up in the Air breakout Anna Kendrick will star in an untitled new comedy to be directed by Jonathan Levine (The Wackness) with Seth Rogen and Wanted’s James McAvoy.

McAvoy will play a twentysomething man who learns he has cancer, while Kendrick will take on the role of a psychologist who counsels him.

Production on the project, which Nicole Holofcener (Friends with Money) was set to helm until she and the studio could not agree on where to shoot it, is set to begin filming next month.

Photo: TwilightGroupie.com.

Update: Joseph Gordon-Levitt is replacing James McAvoy in the movie now that the latter has pulled out of the project “due to unrelated circumstances beyond his control.”

A Sticky Sitch for Spidey

Spider-Man 4 has been delayed.

Sony has decided to push back the start of production on Sam Raimi’s fourthquel starring Tobey Maguire, which was set to begin next month.

The studio doesn’t know when production will resume. This latest schedule snag follows a halt last month, decided upon to tweak the script.

It’s unclear whether Spidey’s latest adventure will meet its announced May 6, 2011, release date.

What is clear, though: How unhappy fans will be...and how oh-so-possible it is for someone at the top of this pile to feel his of her job threatened.

Photo: FreeWebs.com.

Update: Well, this didn’t take long.

Given the news of the shift, Paramount and Marvel have claimed Spidey’s old (?) opening date for their Thor, while Disney has grabbed Thor’s vacated May 20, 2011, slot for its Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Spider-Man 4 could still be ready in time for its announced May 6, 2011, release date, though.

When Sam Mendes Will Meet Bond

Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) is in talks to direct Daniel Craig & Co. in the 23rd chapter of the James Bond franchise.

The untitled project is currently being written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale) in collaboration with Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon).

The movie is oh-so-tentatively slated for 2011. And opinions on this particular choice shall begin in 3...2...1....

Photo: WMagazine.com.

Update: The great debate has begun!

The Rocker M?

Madonna currently is – as usual – hard at work on a new album due out sometime later this year.

Reportedly, one of the confirmed people working on her still-unnamed album is Brendan O’Brien, a producer who has worked with Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, Rage Against the Machine, Stone Temple Pilots, AC/DC, and Aerosmith.

So the question is: Is the Queen of Pop going to dive deep into the rock world and make a guitar-based album?

She certainly has been honing her own skills, as anyone who went to one of her concerts this decade knows.

Also reported to be working with Madonna are A-Trak (a Kanye West collaborator) and David Guetta.

Of course, I can’t wait to learn more.

Photo: Variety.com.

Update: Contrary to rumor, A-Trak is not working with Madonna. Yet.

Sharon Stone Joins the Rotation

This spring, Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Sharon Stone is suiting up as a cop-turned-prosecutor for a four-episode arc on Law & Order: SVU.

La Stone, natch, is expected to go toe-to-toe with Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Stabler (Christopher Meloni), and the rest of the squad.

“It is obviously a thrill and a delight to have a star of [S2]’s wattage and importance joining SVU,” said show creator Dick Wolf.

Also coming on board, for one episode, is Mischa Barton, who will play a hooker in March.

No word on how much of a thrill that piece of casting is for Wolf, though.

Photo: TimesSquareGossip.com.

Update 1: Christopher Meloni’s old Oz co-star, Lee Tergesen, is also coming on board SVU, playing a deranged religious zealot suspected of murder.

Update 2: Debra Winger is also guest-starring on the show, later this month, as an inner-city school principal covering for some students accused of murder.

Simply Irresistible, Pt. 63

The couple that gets ripped together….

The abs-olutely ridikolously hot pair that is Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale were seen showing off their matching six packs as they took a stroll with their equally taut (ha!) 3-year-old son Kingston in St. Bart’s yesterday.

Urgh.

Photo: UsMagazine.com.

Sandy Hearts Betty

2009’s It Woman Sandra Bullock will do the honors and present her ever-It Proposal co-star Betty White with a SAG Life Achievement Award at the Jan. 23 Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The 16th annual awards show will include a tribute to the 87-year-old White’s long, celebrated career, which includes turns in The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls.

Her next role will be in the Disney feature You Again with Kristen Bell.

Off screen, White is a passionate animal-rights activist, affiliated with groups such as Actors and Others for Animals and the Morris Animal Foundation.

It couldn’t happen to a better gal, I say.

Photo: SheKnows.com.

Look Who’s There

Gossip Girl recurring player, and Leighton Meester’s main man, Sebastian Stan is ready for his the big screen.

The actor has been cast to star opposite Ashley Greene (The Twilight Saga) in a supernatural horror movie called The Apparition.

Production on the flick, about a couple haunted by a supernatural presence unleashed as the result of a college experiment, is set to begin early next month.

Photo: GossipGirlInsider.com.

Can I See Some Headlines, Please?

In the spirit of gender and expectations equality, I should anticipate cover stories on all tabloids on how fat formerly chiseled 300 star Gerard Butler has gotten.

Butler let is all hang out while on vacation in Barbados last weekend, and yet, I haven’t seen or read a single item about how scandalous it is that he’s let himself chunk.

I’m just sayin’.

Photo: People.com.

Picking Up on His Career

Luke Wilson, whose brilliant Royal Tenenbaums and entertaining Family Stone played on cable over the holidays (a lot), is finally getting back to serious work.

And not a moment too soon, IMHO: Seeing him in those AT&T commercials, honest work and all, makes me tear up a little.

Wilso has joined Mike White’s new HBO comedy pilot Enlightened, which stars Laura Dern as a self-destructive woman who, following a meltdown, has a spiritual awakening and becomes determined to live an enlightened life, creating havoc at home and work.

Owen’s brother will play Levi, her unkempt ex-husband who has a drug problem.

Sounds kind interesting, no?

Photo: DayMix.com.

Lafayette’s Lovah

It’s a new year, so it’s time for a new piece of True Blood casting news.

Seriously, everyone and their maker is going to be on hit HBO show in the summer.

I mean, Joe Manganiello, Natasha Alam, Grant Bowler….

Now comes word that Kevin Alejandro (TNT’s Southland) has been cast as Lafayette’s (Nelsan Ellis) – Bon Temps’ resident gay – love interest in the upcoming third season.

Alejandro, who will recur, will play Jesus Velasquez, a good-natured Latino orderly caring for Lafayette’s mother (who will be played by Alfre Woodard).

Photo: CBS.com.

Dr. Beek

James Van Der Beek’s slooow return to the tube just got a shot in the arm: The actor is joining TV’s Mercy later this season.

The Beek will recur as the cocky, manipulative skirt-chasing, Dr. Liam West, Mercy Hospital’s new ICU chief, a position that will find him frequently at odds with the other doctors and nurses.

However, he won’t be all trouble: Good ol’ Dr. West also will strive to make the hospital a lot of money.

Oh, and he’ll have a deep, dark secret.

The best part is Van Der Beek could become a series regular if Dr. West clicks.

Photo: EW.com.

Rita Rises Again

Julie Benz, formerly of Showtime’s Dexter, is moving to Wisteria Lane.

The actress has been cast on TV’s Desperate Housewives, in the recurring role of Debbie, a stripper with a heart of gold and a master’s degree in education. When Susan (Teri Hatcher) offers her the chance to transition into a more legitimate career, Deb jumps at it.

Mmm...does she jump Mike (James Denton), too?

Benz has signed on for at least three episodes, the first of which will air in February.

Photo: TheInsider.com.

A Most M-errific Glee

You know how a few months ago Madonna said Glee could use some of her songs for an upcoming episode of the show?

Well, the show’s producers have picked 10 songs that span the Queen of Pop’s entire career, from “Burning Up” to “4 Minutes.”

Also included in the mix: What I can only anticipate will be a very Kurt “Vogue,” and a very Rachel “What It Feels Like for a Girl.”

Click here for a complete list, and start marking off the days in your brand new calendar – Glee returns in the spring.

Photo: iVillage.com.

Update: It looks like “Borderline” and “Open Your Heart,” which are also on the powers that be’s wish list, will be mixed into a medley.

Click here for more M-Glee deets.