While you were sleeping

The gross weather and the TTC conspired to make me half an hour late. I just love being all wet from the disgusting snow-rain amalgam and then having to sit for ten minutes between St. George and Museum without any explanation. Another thing I love: bleeping bleep drivers who I suspect take secret, cackling delight in splashing you with slush as they drive by in their bleeping, gas-guzzling, non-toll-paying, suburban machines of carbon dioxide doom. Anyhater, here are some news:

More woes for Cage From People: "Nicolas Cage's financial and legal nightmare continues to grow. Christina Fulton, mother of Cage's eldest child Weston, 18, is suing the actor for fraud and breach of contract, alleging she's been caught in the web of his financial mismanagement and is now more than $1.2 million in debt herself, Los Angeles court papers show.  Cage stated in an October lawsuit he faces financial ruin after allegedly being duped by a former accountant, Samuel Levin. Fulton, 42, a former actress, says she was provided an L.A. home years ago by Cage in exchange for raising Weston, and believed the property was under her name. That is until September, when Cage allegedly served her with a 60-day notice to get out. Fulton says that because of Cage and Levin's negligence, she now owes the IRS more than $1 million, in addition to $250,000 in unpaid credit card debt."

Spawn "There's another Brady in the bunch. Sources tell People that Gisele Bündchen and husband Tom Brady welcomed a baby boy. Details of the birth and the baby's name have not been disclosed."

Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston: Together at last I'm surprised it's taken this long. "Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston might be playing pretend. Columbia is developing "Pretend Wife," a romantic comedy that would serve as a Sandler vehicle and is in the process of gathering the wedding party. Aniston is in talks to star opposite Sandler, with Sandler mainstay Dennis Dugan the leading contender to direct the project, though no deals have been made as the studio is figuring out the seating arrangement. The script, written by Allan Loeb and Tim Dowling and once known as "Holiday in Hawaii," is being kept under wraps. Columbia is planning a shoot early next year and eyeing a release on Feb. 11, 2011, the Friday before Valentine's Day." THR.

More Pam on True Blood "Eric's sidekick Pam on "True Blood" is getting a promotion. Kristin Bauer, who plays blonde vampire Pam, Eric's (Alexander Skarsgard) wingwoman at vampire bar Fangtasia, has been promoted to a regular on the HBO series. Bauer had guest starred on Alan Ball's vampire drama for the first two seasons, appearing in a total of 11 episodes. Ball recently hinted that may have a meaty story line in store for Pam for Season 3 when she may get into a lesbian relationship." THR.

Kate Gosselin, shut up "Kate Gosselin says her eight children aren't doing so well now that they're no longer in front of the cameras. "They cried in the van on the way home from school the other day. I finally admitted to them, they kept asking, 'Where's the camera crew? Where's the camera crew? We miss them.' And I said, 'Our show is over.' ...Eight sobbing kids driving home from school," Kate, 34, says on Barbara Walters' The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009, airing tonight on ABC." Us.

While you were sleeping

... brought to you by this wonderful piece of art that Michael Jackson had commissioned. So sweet.

Evil people (allegedly) try to extort Uncle Jesse "Actor John Stamos was the target of an extortion plot allegedly hatched by a pair of Michigan residents who threatened to release photographs that would harm his reputation unless they were paid nearly $700,000, The Smoking Gun has learned. According to an FBI affidavit, the photos were taken at a party in Florida, where Stamos was vacationing. While the extortion victim is only identified in the U.S. District Court document as "Mr. X, an actor," TSG has confirmed that Stamos, 46, was the shakedown target. Agents last week arrested Allison Coss, 23, and Scott Sippola, 30, in connection with the extortion plot. According to the affidavit sworn by FBI Agent Leslie Hahn, "Mr. X" attended a party with Coss and her friend in 2004, and "photographs of him were taken" during the bash."

Eddie Vedder gets engaged Damn. There went my chance at Pearl Jam happiness. From eonline: "The Pearl Jam frontman, 44, and his longtime girlfriend, model Jill McCormick, 32, got engaged this weekend… It all went down on Friday night in Washington, D.C., according to a source. The couple were in the city for Sunday's Kennedy Centers Honors gala, in which Vedder performed as part of the tribute to honoree Bruce Springsteen. Vedder and McCormick have two daughters, 5-year-old Olivia and Harper Moon, 15 months."

Hulk Hogan is engaged, too From Us: "Hulk Hogan is tying the knot again. The wrestler, 56, and his girlfriend of nearly two years, Jennifer McDaniel, are engaged, a source close to the couple confirms to Usmagazine.com. New York's Daily News also reported that the two are getting married. "He is engaged and very happy," a source told the paper."

Elijah Wood and Robin Williams still have Happy Feet "Elijah Wood and Robin Williams are in negotiations to reprise their roles as lead voices in "Happy Feet 2," Warner Bros.' sequel to Village Roadshow's 2006 Oscar-winning animated hit. George Miller is back in the director's chair. Wood is reprising Mumble, the penguin who can't sing but can dance the tuxedo off of any waddler around him. Williams is back as (what else?) the hyper-acting and wise-cracking penguin Ramon; he also voices Lovelace." THR.

Sucks to be you, Brian Bonsall These are very exciting times for Family Ties fans. Last week mom came out as a lesbian and now there's this: "A former child TV star who had been dodging Boulder authorities for more than a year has been arrested again, and this time he's accused of hitting his best friend in the face with a broken stool. Brian Bonsall, 28, faces new third-degree assault charges in connection with the Saturday incident and failure-to-appear charges in connection with a 2007 assault on his girlfriend. He's being held at the Boulder County Jail on two bonds totaling $7,500, and he's scheduled to appear in court on the warrant Wednesday. Bonsall, who most notably starred as Michael J. Fox's little brother Andy Keaton on the 1980s TV series "Family Ties," lived in Boulder for several years - graduating from Boulder High in 2000 - before leaving town and skipping a court hearing in 2008." More.

While you were sleeping

... brought to you by Stephen Colbert and a cat.

That's probably for the best "Steven Spielberg has withdrawn from “Harvey.” He spent the past half year developing the pic, his first directing vehicle for the reconstituted DreamWorks. Spielberg delivered the news this week to 20th Century Fox, which had earmarked soundstages on the lot for an early 2010 production start ... Pic — an adaptation of Mary Chase’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a man who befriends a six and a half foot tall invisible rabbit — has been a challenge to pull together since Spielberg committed last August. One of the biggest challenges has been setting a star to play Elwood P. Dowd, the character played by James Stewart in the 1950 film. Spielberg’s first choice was Tom Hanks, but the actor who is often regarded as a modern day Stewart wanted no part of taking over a role played by the iconic star. Spielberg and Fox spent several months courting Robert Downey Jr. While the star didn’t commit, he made suggestions on rewrites of the Jonathan Tropper script. He and Spielberg never found themselves in creative sync on the script, and the director finally called the whole thing off." Variety.

Woman arrested for taping New Moon From The Sun-Times: "Taping three minutes of “Twilight: New Moon” during a visit to a Rosemont movie theater landed Samantha Tumpach in a jail cell for two nights. Now, the 22-year-old Chicago woman faces up to three years in prison after being charged with a rarely invoked felony designed to prevent movie patrons from recording hot new movies and selling bootleg copies. Samantha Tumpach, 22,  is charged with one count of criminal use of a motion picture exhibition, a Class 4 felony, according to Rosemont police Sgt. Keith Kania. But Tumpach insisted Wednesday that’s not what she was doing — she was actually taping parts of her sister’s surprise birthday party celebrated at the Muvico Theater in Rosemont. While she acknowledged there are short bits of the movie on her digital camera, there are other images that have nothing to do with the new film — including she and a few other family members singing “Happy Birthday” to her 29-year-old sister at the theater." So, they were singing and making home movies while the film was playing? No, that wouldn't be irritating to everyone else in the theatre at all.

Spawn "There's a new addition to the Sacred Heart Hospital staff – Scrubs star Judy Reyes has given birth to a girl.  Leila Rey Valencia arrived on Friday, Nov. 27. Baby girl is the first child for Reyes, 42, and her boyfriend, director George Valencia." People.

Johnny Depp to play Pancho Villa? From Variety: "Serbian helmer Emir Kusturica is in advanced negotiations for Johnny Depp to star as Mexican revolutionary hero Pancho Villa in his upcoming biopic titled "Seven Friends of Pancho Villa and the Woman With Six Fingers." Kusturica said the script, written with regular collaborator Gordan Mihic ("Time of the Gypsies," "Black Cat, White Cat"), is completed, although lensing is not set to start until 2011 due to Depp's prior commitments. The Spanish-language biopic will be shot partly in Mexico. Salma Hayek is in advanced talks to co-star in the pic. Depp and Kusturica collaborated previously on "Arizona Dream" in 1993."

While you were sleeping

... brought to you by the best Pac-man jewellery ever.'

Get ready for Kanye versus Taylor, Round 2 "As the Recording Academy showered nominations on the year's biggest hits, the Grammy race is shaping up as largely a showdown between R&B/pop diva Beyonce, who led the noms with 10 mentions, and teen country-pop star Taylor Swift, who nabbed eight. Pop/hip-hop unit the Black Eyed Peas, R&B vocalist Maxwell and rapper Kanye West all hauled in six nominations for the 52nd annual Grammy Awards, announced Wednesday night." You can see the noms here.

That scrumptious morsel, Philip Seymour-Hoffman to play false prophet From Variety: "Paul Thomas Anderson is working on his next project, a period drama to star Philip Seymour Hoffman as a founder of a new religious organization in the 1950s ... Hoffman, who has played supporting roles in most of Anderson's past films, this time will be at the center, playing "the Master," as in "master of ceremonies," a charismatic intellectual who hatches a faith-based organization that begins to catch on in America in 1952 ... As the faith begins to gain a fervent following, Freddie finds himself questioning the belief system he has embraced, and his mentor.The drama does not so much scrutinize self-started churches like Scientology or the Mormons, as much as it explores the need to believe in a higher power, the choice of which one to embrace and the point at which a belief system graduates into a religion."

Dancing with the Stars update "Three weeks after her split with country singer Chuck Wicks, Julianne Hough was spotted with Kings of Leon's Jared Followill at a Nashville bar. The pair cuddled at the Lipstick Lounge Tuesday night after hitting Whiskey Kitchen, another city hotspot, earlier in the evening. They were part of a group that included country singer Holly Williams." People. "It looks like all the personal drama between Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff - who broke off the engagement in September - has finally cha-cha-cha'd it's way on to the dance floor, potentially forcing 'Dancing With The Stars' to decide which one of their loose-legged dancers they want most. Maks himself admitted to PopEater that he doesn't talk to Karina at all anymore, saying "I've got to thank her for being a great instructor in the lesson of what not to look for in a woman." Zing! We'll give that insult a 9 for technical difficulty ... Lets hope Maksim and Karina master the peace dance before ABC is forced to play pick the hottie." Popeater.

While you were sleeping

... brought to you by some tasty Star Trek cookies. Not that I have Star Trek on the brains or anything. And certainly not that I've already watched to Star Trek DVD five times. At all. That would be silly talk.

Brain eating and shopping cart races in 3D From Variety: "Hollywood is moving forward with a pair of unlikely 3D sequels. Sony is in the process of inking deals to bring back the "Zombieland" team for a second installment, but this time the bloody comedy is poised to unspool in 3D. And Paramount has greenlit a third "Jackass," which will also be shot in 3D. Get ready to watch testicles being stapled in all their gory detail. In recent years, studios have given dozens of animated pics as well as tentpoles and horror films the 3D treatment, from "Avatar" to "My Bloody Valentine 3D" to "Monsters vs. Aliens." But until now, low- and medium-budget comedies have been off limits."

Barbara Walters easily fascinated This year's list of Most Fascinating People includes Kate Gosselin, Sarah Palin, Adam Lambert, Lady Gaga, Brett Favre, Tyler Perry, Glenn Beck and Jenny Sanford. By my count, that leaves two spots. I'm guessing they'll go to Tiger Woods' girlfriends. The show airs Dec. 9.

No sexy movie time with J.Lo "That Jennifer Lopez honeymoon tape just went from Rated X to PG. "There wasn't anything close to sex in it," Lopez's attorney John Lavely tells People. "We never alleged that. But it's still private and personal to my client." A Los Angeles judge agreed Tuesday, upholding a ruling that Lopez's ex, Ojani Noa, is forbidden from using 11-plus hours of home video – 20 percent of which allegedly features Lopez – for a mockumentary about his life as a Cuban immigrant, previously titled How I Married Jennifer Lopez: The JLo and Ojani Noa Story. "They're trying to stop me from making my documentary and I'm fighting for my rights," said Noa outside the courtroom. "They're not being fair." 

And here is a clip from that Marilyn-Monroe-getting-high home movie:

While you were sleeping

... brought to you by the first official Iron Man 2 poster. Now with a tasty pinch of War Machine.

Nicole Richie gets a sit-com Whew! With such a terrible lack of actual actors, it's lovely to hear that Nicole Richie is stepping up and helping out. From Variety: "Nicole Richie is plotting a return to primetime, this time as the star of a scripted comedy. The one-time "Simple Life" celeb is headlining a single-camera half-hour sitcom in development at ABC. The script, which is being produced through Sony Pictures TV, would feature Richie as a professional woman with complicated family relationships and struggling to figure out what role she'll take as her life and her family evolve."

Katie Holmes: Amateur podiatrist "Katie Holmes doesn't think there's anything wrong with dressing her 3-year-old daughter Suri in high heels. "Like every little girl, she loves my high heels," she tells Access Hollywood. After Suri was spotted wearing high heels on multiple occasions, critics complained that the footwear could be detrimental to her physical development. "A common side effect of adults wearing heels too often is the tightening or shortening of the Achilles tendon," New York podiatrist Dr. Oliver Zong told Fox News. But Holmes, 30, insists Suri's heels are supportive. "They are actually ballroom dancing shoes for kids," she tells Access. "I found them for her and she loves them." Suri also "loves dancing and singing and she's just a joy," Holmes told Extra. "She loves it all." Us.

Britney Spears did not propose to her boyfriend From People: "Not all the bad news out of Australia about Britney Spears is true. Although she was in fact embroiled in a lip-syncing controversy, reports that her agent-boyfriend Jason Trawick abruptly left the country after rejecting her wedding proposal are "100 percent absolutely false," says a source close to the couple. "There was no proposal and they were never engaged."

Adam Lambert used to weigh 250 lbs:

 

While you were sleeping

... brought to you by Joanna Krupa taking her shirt off for PETA. I can understand the whole, "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" thing, but this seems to make no sense at all. I;m confused. The dog looks a bit confused too.

CBS gives lame excuse for blurring Adam Lambert kiss While interviewing Adam about his AMA performance, the footage of him kissing another man was blurred out. Footage of Madonna and Britney smooching at the Grammys was not. CBS's idiotic excuse was, "The Madonna image is very familiar and has appeared countless times including many times on morning TV. The Adam Lambert image is a subject of great current controversy, has not been nearly as widely disseminated, and for all we know, may still lead to legal consequences."

Gossip Girl, Baby Vampire and James France on SNL "Saturday Night Live will welcome hosts Blake Lively, Taylor Lautner and James Franco in December. Gossip Girl star Lively will appear on Dec. 5 with musical guest Rihanna; New Moon star Lautner will appear with Bon Jovi on Dec. 12; and Franco — the big-screen actor currently appearing on General Hospital – will appear with Muse on Dec. 19." EW.

Excellent news "There are indications ''Gosselin-mania'' may finally be waning. Besides the show ending, I've learned both Kate and Jon Gosselin's separate pitches to keep their money machines churning have mutually hit big roadblocks. Kate Gosselin's proposals to several toy manufacturers -- for a line of ''eco-friendly'' playthings -- have not been met with any enthusiasm. Ditto for her idea for a ''mom-friendly'' (whatever that means!) line of beauty products for busy mothers. Meanwhile, despite lots of chatter - generated by Jon Gosselin himself - none of the rumored new reality shows he would front are gaining any traction with cable network honchos, who likely see the Gosselin phenomenon has run its course." Chicago Sun-Times.

While you were sleeping

... brought to you by Lisa Rinna without make-up. Which looks about 100 times better than Lisa Rinna with make-up.

Donny Osmond wins Dancing With The Stars "It was the perfect ending to “an emotional roller coaster season” Donny Osmond told People minutes after he and partner Kym Johnson were awarded the Season Nine mirror ball trophy. The former teen idol, 51, humbly addressed fans and press members after the show, tearing up as he tried to express how he felt to be the winner. “If you saw the work that went into this season,” Osmond said softly. “Kym is so amazing. Of all the things I’ve done in my career, this is right up there.”When Osmond heard his name called, he rushed over to his wife, Debbie, and swept her off her feet and onto the ballroom floor. “That was so special for me to have Kym on my right and Debbie on my left. What a night,” said Osmond, who was surrounded by his family after the show. His sons quipped that a great place to display the trophy would be on top of this year’s Christmas tree. Osmond beat out runner-up Mya and fan favorite Kelly Osbourne."

Katie Holmes can't shut up "Eyewitnesses tell Fox411 that Katie and a group of her girlfriends stopped by a movie theater near her Manhattan apartment Saturday to catch the latest installment of the “Twilight” series “New Moon” where they proceeded to ruin the film for moviegoers. “Katie came into the movie theater with two of her girlfriends in a great mood,” sources tell Fox411. “They bought tickets in advance to see ‘New Moon’ like all the rest of the Twihards. They checked out the snacks and then they took their seats and kept talking.” All that would have seemed rather normal, except for the fact that they kept on gabbing throughout the entire film! “Katie talked through all of ‘New Moon.’ It was unbelievable – they talked nonstop about the movie and everything else. Some people wanted to tell them to be quiet, but when they realized who it was, they stayed silent. No one wanted to shush Katie.” Were they afraid she was going to beat them up? Or that Tommy's ninja guards would emerge from under the seats and take them away? I would have shushed. I am the queen of shushing. No one talks anywhere near me or I will shush them until they crumble.

Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis is weird "Daniel Day-Lewis got so into character on the set of Nine that he even wrote love notes to costar Fergie, she says: “I’d go into my dressing room, and I’d find this little note. I’d open it, and it would be Guido’s stationary. He would write me little notes as Guido. They were very cute and very charming.” Movieline.

While you were sleeping

FlashForward stops production - temporarily From Ausiello: "Sources confirm to me exclusively that ABC has temporarily shut down production on the rookie drama. The move comes a month after the departure of co-showrunner, Marc Guggenheim, and less than a week after FlashForward hit a new ratings low. "An Alphabet spokesperson confirms the shutdown, but is quick to note that the show’s schedule was designed to accommodate such breaks. “They started production early so that they could have the luxury to do this,” says the rep. “They want to maintain the high quality of the show, and this gives the writers the opportunity to do so.” FlashForward’s lull won’t be nearly as long as the month-long creative hiatus ABC imposed over at V. The Alphabet rep says FF — which airs its mid-season finale on Dec. 3 — will resume production on Monday after just a six-day break."

They give and they give "Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie don’t just talk the talk, they walk the walk. According to the 2008 tax return for the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, the Hollywood couple sent over $6 million to charities last year. Indeed, they more than doubled what they gave in 2007, which is pretty impressive. In 2008, the pair parked just over $13 million in their foundation, and gave away half of it. The biggest recipients of their largesse were: Global Health ($2 million), Human Rights Watch ($1 million), Brad’s Make it Right Foundation ($1 million)." Hollywood Reporter.

Hugh Jackman will star in Real Steel From Variety: "Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider are betting big on robots for their first project since securing $825 million in financing for the reconstituted DreamWorks. The DreamWorks principals have greenlit the "Rocky"-esque robot tale "Real Steel," to star Hugh Jackman ... Based on a short story by Richard Matheson, "Real Steel" was one of 17 projects that Spielberg and Snider took as part of DreamWorks' split from Paramount last year ... Story centers on a fighter who has to reinvent himself when human boxers are replaced by robots. Jackman will play a struggling Robot Boxing promoter who finds a discarded robot that always seems to win. He also discovers he has a 11-year-old son, and they bond as the robot brawls its way toward the top."

Last night's Dancing with the Star's finale featured the always exciting freestyle number (yes, that was a sarcasm-free statement). Donny Osmond got three tens:

While you were sleeping

...brought to you by Heidi Klum walking the runway six weeks after giving birth to her fourth child. Just in case you weren't feeling bad about yourself already this morning, I thought I'd give the old loathing a nudge. You're welcome.

So, last night I went to hear Stephen King and David Cronenberg have a conversation at The Canon Theatre. I should probably have taken notes, but sometimes I like to just sit and listen like a normal person. A couple of observations, though: 1) They both have really good hair. 2) Cronenberg may have missed a calling as a stand-up comedian. Very funny. Good zingers. 3) George Stroumboulopoulos, who made the introductions, should have stuck around (and not just because he's nice to look at). The conversation, as entertaining as it was, was all over the place and needed some structure. The event would have benefitted greatly from a professional moderator. 4) You'd think King would have taken the opportunity to announce this:

Steven Spielberg to develop Under The Dome From Variety: "Steven Spielberg and Stephen King are joining forces to develop a limited series based on King's just-released supernatural thriller "Under the Dome." DreamWorks TV has optioned the book and is looking to set it up as an event series, likely for cable. DreamWorks principal Stacey Snider was key in bringing the project to the company. Spielberg, King and Snider will exec produce along with DreamWorks TV chiefs Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey.Book, which has earned strong reviews as a return to form for the prolific author, revolves around the drama that unfolds after an invisible force field suddenly descends on a small vacation town in Maine. As the locals fight for their survival, the town descends into warring factions led by enigmatic characters. DreamWorks is starting to meet with writers for the project."

Clear your calendar for Feb. 2 "ABC has confirmed that Lost will kick off its sixth and final season with a two-hour premiere on Tuesday, Feb. 2 from 9-11 pm. The requisite recap special will start things off at 8 pm. The following week, Lost will settle into its regular Tuesday-9 pm perch." Ausiello.

Blah, blah, Oprah to end show in 2011, blah, blah If you haven't heard, here are some details.

Whew, Zac and Vanessa are still together We can all relax: "Are Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens about to call it quits? No way, a source close to the couple tells Us. The pal cough. Vanessa. cough scoffs really? "scoffs?" Who the hell "scoffs?" Have you ever "scoffed?" at a new National Enquirer story entitled "Zac and Vanessa Finished - she just doesn't know it yet." In fact, the couple are doing just fine, the source says, adding, "they spent months together up in Vancouver, where they are both filming movies." "Things are going well with them," the source says. "They are happy." 

Split "James Van Der Beek has filed for divorce from his wife of nearly six years, actress Heather Ann McComb, Los Angeles court records show. The couple had no children together. The pair separated earlier this year." People.

AP Photo/Jason DeCrow