day 23

a dark new moon?

it seems like everyday more and more twilight bad news is coming out.  today's tidbit involves casting in the second movie.  taylor lautner, currently holding the role of jacob in the franchise, is apparently looking to be replaced by the creative forces behind the blockbuster sequel.  lautner's character plays a pivotal role in the second film as bella's new love interest.  producers feel that lautner is too "baby faced" to hold the emotionally driven role of bella's werewolf boyfriend.  to keep lautner in the part, the actor's camp is apparently working very hard at convincing the producers that he works, even going as so far as to begin talks with the make up crew from the curious case of benjamin button, a movie in which brad pitt ages backwards, to age and butch lautner up.  the other problem facing this new casting direction is the lack of native american actors in the hollywood community.  lautner is only partially native america and, at the time, was the best the casting department could find.  while i have not read the books, it seems like lautner was one of the few actors who carried his character well in the film adaptation.  plus, it always looks so bad when a part is recast in a franchise - its hard to watch the films back-to-back when a different person is playing the same character.  hopefully summit, the studio behind the film, is able to clear all this up before their projected release date of november 20th of next year.

spiderman hits the great white way

"spiderman, the musical" is set to head to new york's famed broadway sometime in 2010 and the leading lady has just been cast.  evan rachel wood has nabbed the part of spidey's lady friend mary jane.  this would explain the recent marilyn manson ex's experimentation with red hair.  wood has allegedly begun work with bono and the edge, from u2, who are penning all the songs for the musical.  producers are supposedly seeking wood's across the universe co-star jim sturgess for the lead of peter parker, though neither actor has professional musical theater experience.  they worked well together in the trippy beatles themed movie, but i don't know how they'll fare on broadway...neither really seems able to fill the shoes of tobey maguire or kirsten dunst. 

desperate housewives to keep kicking through 2013?

while originally planned to run for just seven seasons, ending in 2010, abc's desperate housewives looks like it might be sticking around for 2 additional seasons.  marc cherry, the creator and driving force behind the female ensemble dramedy, is working closely with abc head honchos to increase the seasons of the shows.  cherry, who had always planned for just seven seasons and said multiple times he would never extend the show, has apparently changed his tune due to the recent creative surge caused by the show's 5 year time jump.  as well as the creative surge, the show has had a ratings surge, averaging 16 million viewers each sunday since the beginning of the current season, exceeded only by dancing with the stars.  yep, the housewives are even beating out this season of grey's anatomy.  the show is currently under contract for 7 seasons and has been picked up through its fifth, but if ratings continue to pull through, abc prez steve mcpherson is sure to allow for the additional seasons.  this news is also good for the actresses, who will be able to hold a steady job through the tough economic times.

gossip coupling numero tres?

it looks like everyone on the gossip girl set has a special someone in the form of one of their costars...well, maybe.  in addition to pen badgley and blake lively (who are not breaking up, contrary to many reports) and jessica szohr and ed westwick, it seems that chace crawford and taylor momsen have been heating things up off set.  the two were reportedly seen smooching at a variety of events over the past few weeks.  the major problem here is that chace is 23 and taylor is only 15...quite the age difference.  however, this pairing is hard to believe.  when the two actors' characters had an on screen kiss this season, reports came out that crawford was terribly uncomfortable with the age difference.  as well, multiple close sources to the rumored couple have come out to defend that the story is simply untrue.  and until some photog snaps the two in a romantic sitch, i'm going to have to take this one with a grain of salt.  

day 19

would you want michael jackson to be your uncle?

no, i would not. but, that may be the case for the newest little kid to hit the jackson block.  janet jackson is reportedly pregnant, explaining the multiple shows, and eventual tour, the singer canceled.  the father would, of course, be jermaine "munchkin" dupri, janet's longtime lover.  as janet is now 42, it's kind of now or never for the baby department.  will the two tie the knot before a little jackson-dupri hits the scene? or will this be just another celeb couple with a kid out of wedlock? we'll just have to wait and see.  in the meantime, click here to watch an extra interview from one of janet's tyra show appearances.  

big o and big b to meet?

oprah says she wants to have a one-on-one interview with recovering comeback kid britney spears.  lady o rarely does pretaped one-on-ones outside her chicago studio, reserving that "honor" to celebs who have made less than great impressions of themselves in previous "live segments," like tom cruise.  hopefully this all works out and the recently named "most powerful woman in entertainment" is able to get the popstar to reveal some things she didn't in her for the record documentary, like why she was on that 5150 psychiatric hold.  are you ready to see these two to meet? or would you rather just see a performance/interview live?

stephanie tanner's empty house

jodie sweetin, best known for her role as middle child stephanie tanner on the 90s sitcom full house, is facing all sorts of troubles.  the recovering meth addict may lose custody of her recently birthed baby as her recently estranged husband is looking for sole custody.  jodie "how rude" sweetin filed for divorce from her husband, who she credited with getting her off the hard drugs, and moved in back with her father.  the couple were facing a foreclosure on their house, as both were out of work.  sweetin's soon to be ex claims her was a stay at home dad and, therefore, should have custody of the child who spent most of his time with.  the hearing on this matter is scheduled for february 9th.  it seems like sweetin is just constantly racking up more and more stories for her in progress tell all book, confessions of a how rude meth addict divorced mom.  okay that's a fake title. 

dita's gonnna be pissed 

looks like marilyn manson like to constantly "upgrade" his girlfriend model.  manson's latest pick is "isani." the "model" - who posed for manson's recent art show - is relatively unknown and just appears to be a rose mcgowan-dita von teese-evan rachel wood hybrid.  so, manson went from a 2 name, to a 3 name, to a 2 name, to a 1 name girlfriend...maybe its the weird name combos? after their recent breakup, evan rachel wood died her hair back to a more natural redish color and reconnected with her estranged family.  deeta von teese became more famous post her break up with manson, and evan rachel wood went on to land a role in charmed.  maybe dating manson is the key to success in the hollyhood?