Connie Britton: Friday Night Lights movie is happening

This better not be a lie or I will start crying and kicking my feet and screaming and holding my breath and pulling things off the shelves at the supermarket. Us has this:

"Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose...at the box office! TV's cult hit Friday Night Lights is headed to the big screen for a second time, confirms series star Connie Britton. "It's happening for realsies," Britton, 44 - who earned an Emmy nod for her role as Tami Taylor - tells Us Weekly. Since the NBC/DirecTV drama's executive producer Peter Berg announced plans to adapt the series in August, Britton says the pieces have been quickly falling into place. "Pete is totally fired up to do it and I know Jason Katims is talking about writing a script. I think it's really a matter of…getting everyone's busy schedules aligned and making it happen," says Britton. "It kind of feels like there's a lot of commitment to it." Though she's currently tied up shooting Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story for FX, Britton tells Us she'll do all she can to bring Tami to the big screen. "I for one will do my part in trying to push it along," she says of the possible film, which will follow the 2004 Billy Bob Thornton flick of the same name. "It's so funny to hear [from fans]: 'Do you think they'll do a movie version of Friday Night Lights?' and in the back of my mind I'm like, 'You do realize there already is a movie of it?'" she tells Us. "I was actually in that one too!'"

 

Actor Sean Maher comes out

Sean Maher sat down with Entertainment Weekly and then tweeted, "Today is a big day for me! A long time coming and I have something extremely important to share with you all."

Here's an excerpt from the EW story. You can read the rest here.

"Firefly alum and Playboy Club actor Sean Maher has worked steadily in Hollywood for 14 years, and during that time, he made the choice to be closeted about his personal life as a gay man — until now. For the first time, Maher opens up about his sexuality in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly. “I was nervous coming here today because I’ve just never talked about it,” Maher says, while sitting down to chat at Little Dom’s Italian bistro in Los Angeles’ trendy Los Feliz neighborhood, the area where the actor lives with Paul, his partner of nearly nine years, and their two children, Sophia Rose, 4, and Liam Xavier, 14 months. “But, it’s so liberating. It was interesting to be coming to have a conversation that I was always afraid to have.” Despite his trepidation, he adds with a big smile: “This is my coming out ball. I’ve been dying to do this.” “I’ve never discussed it publicly,” the 36-year-old continues. “I’ve never been asked about it publicly, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t paint a different picture.” Maher says that not coming out wasn’t so much a choice as much as it was a reality of the business when he first came to L.A. fresh out of college back in 1997. Publicists working with him during his first Tinseltown role as the title character on Fox’s short-lived cop drama Ryan Caulfield: Year One assumed he was straight — and he didn’t tell them otherwise, out of fear. “I’m 22, I move to L.A., and it’s such a cliché, but the day I arrive, publicists from the show took me out to The Ivy for lunch,” he remembers. “They’re telling me, ‘You know, gosh, we’d really appreciate it if you could keep your girlfriend on the side because we want to appeal to the female demographic of the show.’” Granted, Maher could have corrected his handlers, but in that instant, he decided not to. “At that moment, I didn’t think to say, ‘Oh, I’m gay,’ because right before I left New York [where he went to college at NYU], I had my manager tell me: ‘You need to get a girl on your arm or people will start talking.’ I remember telling him: ‘I’m gay.’ He had no idea. And he said: ‘All the more reason to get a girl on your arm.’ My agent was also like, ‘It’s best if you keep your options open. Maybe bisexual?’ Despite pressure from his manager and agent, both of whom he has since parted ways with, it was ultimately Maher’s decision to stay in the closet, out of concern that he wouldn’t otherwise be able to book leading-man roles. “I kept thinking, This is my first show, I don’t want to get fired,” Maher says. “I’m thinking, What is the potential that if they caught wind that they had cast a gay lead actor that they would fire me? I was young, I was 22. I didn’t know anything. So that sort of started the idea of, okay, well, I’m working a lot, I guess I’ll just keep that gay part of my life on the back burner for now. I went so far as to sleep with women a couple times. It was a very confusing time for me.” But being in the closet tormented Maher. “It was so exhausting, and I was so miserable,” Maher says. “I didn’t really have any life other than work and this façade I was putting on. So I kept my friends from college [where he was out] separate from my work friends, and that was very confusing. I just kept going on and on painting this picture of somebody I wasn’t. I didn’t have time for a personal relationship anyway. And you just don’t realize that it’s eating away at your soul ... The role for which Maher is probably most well-known is Dr. Simon Tam, a surgeon on the run after breaking his sister River (Summer Glau, who he’s pictured with here) out of a research facility, on the cult TV series Firefly and follow-up feature Serenity, both created by Joss Whedon. Maher remembers those projects as some of his best — even though his personal life was still off-limits during that time. “Looking back, on Firefly for instance, I do wish on day one I had told them because these are some of the most amazing people who are still like family to me,” Maher says. “I am so grateful for that show because they saved me. I was so unhappy and lonely and to come to work everyday with that group was wonderful. It really was all I had at that point in my life.”

And, all of a sudden, your job doesn't seem so bad

Brad Pitt joins the League of Celebrity Super Heroes

Kate Winslet is Fire Girl, who saves the mothers of billionaires from deadly blazes. Gwyneth Paltrow is Premonition Pixie, the pre-emptive staller of tragedy. Ryan Gosling is The Natty Negotiator, a calming presence, who stops fights where ever he goes. And Tom Cruise, of course, is Highway Man, saviour of stranded motorists, aided by his trusted sidekick, David Beckham aka Road Rescuer.

Add now to that shiny gang of do-gooders with phenomenal hair, Brad Pitt: The Anti-Crusher. People has this: "Lately he's been busy battling zombies, but on Thursday Brad Pitt stepped into the role of real-life rescuer. The actor, 47, was shooting his new movie World War Z in Glasgow, Scotland, where more than 700 extras were packed into George Square to film chaotic scenes of a terrifying zombie invasion. But the terror turned real when a female extra slipped amid the trampling crowd. "I don't think she could believe it when Brad picked her up," a set insider told The Scottish Sun. "He didn't have time to speak to her as it was mid-shoot. But she said afterwards how grateful she was, despite having a badly-grazed knee."

Just when you thought you couldn't possibly love Ryan Gosling any more than you already do ...

...  he calmly breaks up a street fight. Via ONTD.

Shatner gets his honourary degree

This just happened at McGill.

REUTERS/Shaun Best

Celebs tweet about Bin Laden's death

Because ... you can't tweet about the royal wedding forever.

@JimCarrey Wow! They killed the Boogieman! I felt something was in the air tonight! Bin Laden era over! S'next? ?;^•

@RobLowe At ground zero now. Everyone together. No separate religions or political parties. Just people. Americans together; proud.

@danecook Osama Bin Laden's demise finally comes after stupidly activating his iPhones FIND MY PHONE feature

@SimonPegg There's a slight sense in the more sensationalist media that the world just completed a particularly tricky video game.

@charliesheen Dead or Alive. WE PREFER DEAD! Well done SEAL team! AMERICA: #WINNING that's how we roll.... c

@benjaminmadden How bad do u think the President Obama wanted to say "BOoOyAH Son!!" at the end of his speech tonight? Probably pretty bad.

@MMFlint (Michael Moore) Cost of war to the U.S. since 2001: 1.2 trillion dollars. Interrupting Celebrity Apprentice: Priceless. (via Mike Olpin)

@LadyGaga Just landed. Watching CNN, what a historical moment in the fight against hatred. 

@SnoopDogg Bring the soldiers bac home asap! They r missed! We love how they fight for us now let's fight for them!!

@ActuallyNPH (Neil Patrick Harris) Everyone is sitting around my living room, mouths agape. Wow, what a night. Thank you, Mr. President, for such an eloquent speech.

@RyanSeacrest After last nights bin laden news I jumped on a plane to do radio show and enews live from nycJust landed. There is an energy here today!

@SandraBernhard thank you @barackobama for getting the job done, quietly with class and dignity. nuff said.

@JohnStamos "I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure." ~Mark Twain

@MichaelChiklis Man, we needed this! The news of late has been a mix of bad and worse. Feels great to get a big win!

@kevin_nealon Throngs of citizens are celebrating outside The White House waiting for Obama and Michelle to kiss on the balcony.

@jeremypiven Amazing night for all of us, innocent people were not harmed and justice prevailed....

@CraigyFerg It is indeed a great day for America everybody. Yes it is.

@iansomerhalder Trump demands to see osama death cert :-) 



Woo-hoo! HBO renews Game of Thrones

Excellent news (even for women). EW has this:

"Winter is coming — back! HBO has renewed its fantasy series Game of Thrones after airing only one episode. The show’s second season will likely debut next year and will be based on George R.R. Martin’s second book in his Song of Ice and Fire series, A Clash of Kings. “We are delighted by the way David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have brought George R.R. Martin’s amazing book series to the screen, and thrilled by the support of the media and our viewers,” said Michael Lombardo, president of HBO. “This is the continuation of an exciting creative partnership.” As previously reported, a Thrones renewal was likely even before the show premiered given HBO’s big investment in creating the world of Westeros and the potential back-end from international sales and DVD. Sunday’s premiere ratings were fairly healthy too, with the drama delivering 4.2 million viewers across three airings."

Tom Cruise on Glee?

This is one of those stories that uses the phrase "it's been claimed," so cover yourselves in at least 50 kilos of salt before continuing. Showbiz Spy has this:

"Tom Cruise could very well be making a cameo appearance on the hit TV show Glee. So could I. And the Easter Bunny. And the guy who is at this very moment looking for bottles in my recycling bin (he's not going to find any because I put them in a separate bag and give them to another guy. That was - I promise - the most useless and boring fact about myself I'll share all week) Producers are said to be keen for the Top Gun star to create his own character for the show. In that case he wants to play a disillusioned lunch lady who once dreamed of becoming a caterer at the royal wedding. The producers love the idea that Tom might create a character just like Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder,” a source said. “His dance rendition to Flo Rida’s Low went down so well with audiences and they know something like that would be just as popular, if not more so, on Glee. At the moment they are in talks with Tom to play a failed and jaded pop star who is now teaching a Glee Club at a rival school but they are willing to let him have a lot of input in to his character just to try and get him on the show. They know that Katie and Suri are big fans of Glee too so they are hoping this may also sway his decision.” Moving on to an entirely different subject: Meanwhile, it’s been claimed that Tom and his wife Katie Holmes are feeling broody — and it’s all thanks to their pregnant pal Victoria Beckham! Sources close to Katie — who raises adorable daughter Suri with the Top Gun star — say she is eager to have another child and is being made to feel all the broody sure like that word by Victoria’s growing baby bump. “Katie is so excited for Victoria,” says a source close to the actress and her superstar husband. “She would love a little brother or sister for Suri and she’s made no attempt to hide her feelings from Tom. There could well be another little Cruise along soon. While we're making stuff up, let's not forget to mention that it's been claimed Tom is looking to get his hands removed and replaced with flippers and that it's also been claimed that Suri is running for president of the Kingdom Of Cookies. This is a fun game. I'm having trouble ending it, so it may or may not have been claimed that Katie is in fact a sleeper agent for the KGB, who was sent forward in time to foil the take-over of Transylvania by sheep carcases.”

Real men and what they don't do