day 2.343

scarjo on snl

saturday night live is really getting back into the groove this season. and returning hosts only make it better. scarlett johansson made her 3rd appearance last night on the sketch show, and brought some of the funniest skits to the air. check out my faves below.

day 105

the jobros underwhelm

what was expected to be one of the biggest opening weekends at a the box office ever was a big flop.  the brothers jonas' 3d concert flick came in at number 2 at the weekend box office, behind week-old madea goes to jail.  but how did this happen? everyone was expecting the disney backed movie to come in at a minimum of $30 million, but didn't even crack $15 million.  the film brought in only $12.7 million, which was behind even secondary estimates that the brothers would bring in $17 million.  when i say everyone was expecting the film to be huge, i mean everyone.  major studios held off releasing any new movies this past weekend, knowing that the jonas movie was headed for box office gold.  little did they know that tyler perry's madea would be able to crush tween cash.  the jonas brothers could even be in 3rd place.  official numbers haven't been calculated yet for the weekend's box office and, if they fall short of the $12.7 expectations, slumdog millionaire could bump them into third.  the questions still exists, though: why did it underperform?  a lot of the blame is being placed on hannah montana's shoulders.  miley cyrus' 3d concert experience from last february gave industry estimators the platform to base the jonas movie's numbers. the miley/hannah concert movie brought in $31.1 million its opening weekend in about half as many theaters as the jonas movie.  the thing is, however, that miley's movie came out pre-recession; the jonai's, on the other hand, came out right in the middle.  there's also the idea that the jonas brothers just aren't as popular on screen as their music is; last summer's disney channel original movie, camp rock, starring the trio underperformed expectations on cable and disney has pushed

 back the release date for the brothers' new tv show.  how will disney remedy the conundrum that is the brothers jonas?  that remains to be seen. 

casting couch

some big stars are taking on some interesting new projects. keira knightly is set to headline the sci-fi flick never let me go.  theme-wise, the film seems very similar to 2005's the island, which starred ewan mcgregor and scarlett johannson, with clones made for organ harvesting being at the center of the plot.  knightly will play 1 of 3 clones who grew up in a secluded boarding school who have to find a way out of being used.  this will be knightly's first foray into the world of science fiction and her robotic acting style will be put to use perfectly in the part.  jason bateman is keeping himself busy, adding another project to his in-development comedies the baster and the arrested development movie.  the tv and big-screen funnyman will reteam with his juno director, jason reitman, to star alongside george clooney in up in the air, a workplace comedy all about getting even.  as for tv news, the cw now has some stars for its in development projects.  katie cassidy has been cast as ella flynn in the melrose place reboot while the twilight inspired vampire diaries will be headlined by steven r mcqueen.  both actors are famous due to family ties - katie's dad is david of the patridge family and steven is the grandson of the hollywood icon steve mcqueen.

day 91

relation-ships: some going strong, some sailing on

salma hayek has gone and tied the knot.  the actress/producer/hollywood mogul and her baby-daddy french billionaire boyfriend, after an on and off affair, finally made it official on valentine's day in a paris church.  the couple have one child - daughter valentina - and split up in july 2008, only to get back together only recently.  this is hayek's first marriage but her beau, francois-henri pinault, is on his third and has two children from his previous marriages.  the couple are a major power in the world of entertainment, with hayek being all over tv and movies and pinault owning two of the biggest fashion houses out there, yves saint laurent and gucci.  in other couples' news, milo ventimiglia and his heroes castmate hayden panetierre (talk about crazy last names) have called it quits.  the couple, who had been together for over a year, decided that the age difference was just too much and that the duo were in two different points in their life.  i wonder if the break up had anything to do with the rumors that hayden is also planning to leave the show.  the actress apparently wants to branch out and get away from the show that is slowing dying in the ratings.  

iron man 2 - double the drama

with terrence howard already out of the sequel, there may be even more casting shifts on the second installment of the robert downey jr franchise.  emily blunt was brought on board to play the role of the black widow and may already be out.  blunt has been trying to work out scheduling conflicts between iron man and the jack black helmed gulliver's travels and is reportedly having quite the difficulty.  and producers aren't looking at this like its a bad thing.  now that emily may be out, the team behind the film is gunning for scarlett johnasson to take the role.    scarlett has already met with producers and is eager to take the action role, something she really hasn't tapped into yet.  this is a big blow to emily blunt.  the british actress really hasn't had a megahit in the states since the devil wears prada and the iron man sequel would have been a second launching pad for the actress.  it will be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of weeks with filming supposed to start in the next couple of months.  hopefully emily will be able to work out her schedule and maybe scarlett can be used in a different capacity on the film?

day 26

hudson halts headstart

jennifer hudson has decided to not film the music video for her next single after all.  the singer is said to still be too distraught from the october deaths of her mother, brother, and nephew. while the killer, hudson's brother-in-law, is behind bars, the singer-actress does not want to step into the public eye quite yet.  this means the next time we see the former idol contestant would be the hugh jackman helmed oscars in february.  hudson won the best supporting actress award for her role in dreamgirls two years ago and, as an oscar nominee/winner, she is invited to the awards show each year.  how do you think gary busey gets to go every year?

jessica simpson, labeless

jessica simpson may be without a place to record music in the near future.  the singer-actress is said to be this close to being dropped from columbia/epic/columbia-nashville records.  the tabloid staple most recently released a country effort, do you know, debuted at number one on the country and pop charts, but slowly faded away after that.  neither of her singles, "come on over" and "remember that," have really taken off. it seems like neither the pop or country markets are really taking the singer seriously, most likely because of her public image.  if the singer is not dropped from her label, she is set to open for Rascall Flats on the 2009 "bob that head" tour.  even if the singer is dropped, another label is sure to pick her up.  and she always has her ever growing fashion and accessory lines to keep her going...

richie to record

after years of speculation, nicole richie is finally said to have an album in the works.  the reality show star, tabloid target, heiress, and new mom is supposedly working with current pop princess rihanna and kelly osbourne. she is probably working with her famous father, lionel, as well.  no other news is known - no release date, no known label, and no known songs. the album will probably come on in the next year or so though.  click here to listen to a leaked demo track, "dandelion," from a few years back from the star.  the song is a cover of a single from 90s boy band LFO, the singers of such classics as "summer girls (abercrombie and fitch)."  

united kingdom: home of fake news

over the past couple of days, publications overseas have been releasing completely fabricated stories.  the first of which is an alleged interview scarlet johannson supposedly have with cosmo, uk.  the cover story was completely made up - scarjo never even met with anyone at the magazine.  so, if you hear any quotes from the actress talking about her recent marriage to fellow canadian ryan reynolds...don' believe them.  scarlet has never been one to talk about her personal life and continues to be that way.  the second story is about kanye west taking a break from the recording industry to work as a fashion intern.  the daily mirror reported that the rapper was to work the low-man-on-the-totem-pole position at fashion house louis vuitton, which is completely untrue.  if kanye were to step into the fashion world, it would probably be his own line (think sean jean) or a collaboration with an american design firm.