day 4.69

so this happened...

so, taylor swift can be funny? and they sing!

day 2.325

ready for new year's eve?

it looks like we might have the next all-star ensemble cast comedy on the way. february's valentine's day is reportedly getting a sequel. director gary marshall announced almost immediately after valentine's day release that he and writer katherine fugate were working on a sequel to the hit, called new year's eve. the film will follow the same interconnected storyline as its predecessor, but with a whole new cast and focused on, you guessed it, new year's eve. while new line cinema, the studio behind the first flick, hasn't announced the sequel, hasn't greenlit or announced the project yet, the internet is abuzz with rumors of who will headline the new movie. apparently glee star lea michele is at the top of marshall's list, alongside justin bieber, halle berry, zac efron and reese witherspoon. i don't know about you, but this list sounds pretty promising. so promising that, if the movie isn't made, i'll be very disappointed. i remember reading soon after marshall's announcement that the only character from the original movie who might make the transition between flicks was taylor swift's slightly ditzy high schooler felicia. i don't know if that's the best idea (taylor's acting needs just a little bit of work), but it could be a way to bring the audience back. if the rumors are to be believed, production will start on new year's eve this winter (around, yep, new year's eve) and the film will be released next december. let's all cross our fingers.

day 2.282

take a spin

if you loved (or even just tolerated) the devil wears prada, i suggest you check out spin by robert rave. spin hit shelves last august and i wanted to read it as soon as it was released because every review i had read about it had praised it as "the devil wears prada for guys." now that i finally got the chance to check the book out, i can say those reviews i read did not disappoint. spin tells the story of taylor green, a recent midwestern college grad who moves to nyc in order to find himself. it takes green falling into a job as a publicist for one of nyc's biggest power players, jennie weinstein. the story follows taylor's trials and tribulations as jennie's, well, bitch. the novel is actually a roman a clef (that means fictionalized reality people) about author robert rave's time working with former nyc pr queen lizzie grubman, who you might remember from her short-lived mtv series power girls.

isn't she a beaut? much like the devil wears prada's miranda priestly "exposed" on vogue's anna wintour, spin's jennie reveals what all goes on behind the doors of lizzie grubman p.r. the whole time i was reading the book, i assumed it was about lizzie. my speculation was confirmed in the book's final chapter when *spoiler* jennie purposefully drives her car into a hamptons-esque restaurant. lizzie grubman famously drove her suv into a party in the hamptons. click. although, grubman denies the novel is more than pure fiction and not about her and rave hasn't confirmed or denied who jennie really is.

definitely check the book out if you want a quick read that is laugh out loud funny. it's filled with sarcastic wit and tongue-in-cheek references to the world of celebrity. and if you're a young adult interested in media industry, i think the book gives a pretty honest account of what it really takes to get what you want.

even before the novel was published, speculation about a movie version began. while i don't know if someone has the rights to the film, i can't wait until they make this. author rave publically backed zac efron in the role of taylor and i can totally see it. here are some promotional clips for the book that give you a glimpse of what a film version would look like.

rave is set to release his follow up novel, waxed, in early august. waxed follows the lives of the employees at a - you guessed it - upscale waxing salon that caters to the rich and famous. i'll probably make it my final summer read before i have to head back to the world of learning.

day 150

yep, we've hit 150 posts! 

dina lohan to the rescue

this isn't so much of a story, but a blurb/tweet-worthy - i still thought it was pertinent to your understanding of the world. okay, not really. i just really live lindsay lohan and her mess of a life, which includes her mother. lindsay's mother, donata aka dina, always says she doesn't want to be famous, yet will take any moment she can to get some press. hypocritical much? aside from her self-promotion on her e! tv program, living lohan (which is supposed to return sometime this year), dina has taken to talking about lindsay's "projects" like her life depended on it. we all know about lindsay's funnyordie eharmony skit, and dina would like you to know it was her idea. dina told entertainment tonight that she approached lindsay about doing funnyordie because she thought it would be a great, funny way to tackle the rumors.  really? did dina sell the rights to lindsay's story to us weekly, too? the two "outlets" seem pretty contradictory - are you making fun of your life or taking it too seriously. make up your minds lohans :). oh and lindsay's extended fam is apparently taking measures to send the starlet back to rehab. obvi dina is not involved, as she recently dropped lindsay off at a club (see vid above). 

gwyneth paltrow has frenemies? 

after a recent post on her living site/newsleter goop.com, people are starting to speculate as to who gwyneth is meaning by the "person [who] really did what they could to hurt me." here's the letter as it appeared on the site:

all fingers are pointing to gwyneth's former gal-pal winona rider. the duo were inseparable throughout the 90s until gwyn won the role of viola in the 1998 oscar winner shakespeare in love. tensions grew especially when gwyn took home the little gold man for her role, too.  and could the "something unfortunate" be winona's legal troubles after her five-finger discount? hmm...i'll let you decide for yourself. 

everybody cut footloose!

what was once a vehicle for musical megastar zac efron - who takes his first step as a non-disney leading man in tomorrow's 17 again (this movie could make or break his career) - kenny ortega's musical remake of kevin bacon 80's classic footloose is shaping up to be a chance to launch two new movie careers. gossip girl star chace crawford is said to be this close to signing on to the project and filling zac's (probably tiny) shoes. this would be chace's first big screen outing as a leading man, other than 2008's little seen horror flick the haunting of molly hartley. can chace even sing? let's hope so - footloose's soundtrack is set to be a big hit if the movie does make it past pre-production. another surprise casting news? dancing with the stars' and rising country star julianne hough has reportedly auditioned and is being strongly considered for the leading lady role in the flick.  julianne has said that the next natch (that's natural for my non-abreve inclined friends) step in career evolution would be acting. plus, a musical would make complete sense with her singing career and all. let's just hope chace doesn't back out - julianne's bro derek hough is said to be the crew's second choice (technically third after zac) and i don't know about you but i don't need to see any incest on the big screen. 

day 126

efron won't be footloose

zac efron is hopping on the lindsay lohan train of torpedoing your career.  the teen fave is dropping out of sure-to-be blockbuster footloose. the kenny ortega directed flick was going to update the kevin bacon fave with the musical numbers from its broadway makeover and has always been touted as a zefron vehicle.  but, now, the blockbuster is without a star.  efron is said to be tired of all the teen roles and musicals - what a great thing to say right before your family friendly flick 17 again hits theaters! - and wants to move into more serious roles, like his turn in the period drama me and orson welles. so what does this mean for the future of the movie?  the movie was originally start production next month, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen now.  and how about the hairspray sequel?  if zac is done with musicals and teen flicks, then that definitely rules out the late 60s continuation of the musical adaptation.  is zefron stupid? he's totally shooting himself in the foot.  he's not a leading man in the sense that he can compete with the likes of leo dicaprio or jake gyllenhaal.  it'll be interesting to see how this plays out in the next couple of years.

lc loses line

lauren conrad's eponymous clothing line has officially folded. but, the wanna be designer doesn't want you to know that.  instead of admitting defeat, the star is saying the line is going under a refocusing after the current dip in sales from the economic climate.  the line, however, has never sold well - it's all cotton dresses for minimum $200! who wants that?  lauren is hoping to make the line more upscale, with higher end fabrics and additions that she was unable to use the first go around.  i say just give up and stay on tv! mtv is said to be developing other projects for lauren because they don't want to let her go.  a new show might follow lauren's real life, maybe even the development of the newly re-imagined line.  a reality star can never walk away from the cameras completely.  i imagine she'll be back in our living rooms in the fall or early 2010 with a new project on the network that launched her into the instcelebrity she has become. 

just a thought...

yay! self magazine finally did a cover a little differently.  the new issue, featuring house bunny star anna faris, doesn't 

put the actress in the dead center with warrior arms. instead, she's shown full body! but, why is she still in a bathing suit?  i guess you can't change everything at one time.