(Reuters)

Reuters - Kenny Chesney does his heroes George Strait and Jimmy Buffett proud on his latest set, which has a free-and-easy feel befitting its island inspiration.

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 10 Oct 2008 | 8:21 pm

What Obama Needs to Know for His Pre-Election Infomercial

Just put the Obama in the oven, and ten minutes later, presto! A perfect egg sandwich!
Photo: Getty Images

As you may have heard, the Obama campaign has purchased 30 minutes of prime-time television on CBS and NBC for Wednesday, October 29. He's expressed interest in buying the same amount of time on Fox. The cash-flush campaign will produce what, by all reports, seems to be an infomercial-like advertisement to be aired less than one week before Election Day. The last candidate to make such a buy was Ross Perot, sixteen years ago. Now, most of you readers probably have better things to do during the day, but your Daily Intel editors have sat through their fair share of infomercials, and we have a little bit of advice. Here are some tips for Obama.

Source: Daily Intel | 10 Oct 2008 | 8:20 pm

Britney Sees the Forest for the Perfume (E! Online)

E! Online - If we were that airbrushed, we wouldn't have anything to hide, either.

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 10 Oct 2008 | 8:06 pm

Sarah Palin to Meet Don Draper on ‘SNL’

Photo-illustration: Lane Brown; Photos: AMC, Getty Images

According to Cindy Adams, consummate maverick Sarah Palin has officially signed on to guest on next weekend's episode of Saturday Night Live. That's the show that Mad Men's Jon Hamm is set to host! Speculation is that Palin will play Tina Fey in a sketch, but we'd much rather see her get it on with Don Draper.

GOLLY, PALIN TO PLAY HERSELF ON 'SNL' [NYP]

Earlier: Don Draper to Host ‘Saturday Night Live’
Actual Sarah Palin to Possibly Appear on ‘SNL’

Source: Vulture | 10 Oct 2008 | 8:00 pm

Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack’s Very Bad Day

Mack has been tormented by Christopher Columbu, and the healthy Japanese.
Photo: Getty Images, iStockphoto

Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack is so on edge right now, you have no idea. Shares plummeted nearly 26 percent, the lowest closing price in a decade, after the shorts swept in the last hour of trading. Moody’s Investors Service said it was putting Morgan Stanley’s credit rating on review. Then today all hell broke loose, and stock dropped 40 percent from yesterday's close, to $7.57 at last look, putting the total market cap at $8.4 billion, which, as Clusterstock points out, is under the $9 billion Mitsubishi promised to give them for only 20 percent of the company. Why, God, why? an anguished cry inside Mack's brain startles him. Why did this happen! Of course he knows it's the rumors. The rumor-a-minute fearmongering marketplace. How many times did he and Mitsubishi say the deal is going to go through? How many times? But really, it's the Federal Reserve's fault, for saying the deal could not officially close until Monday. Monday is Columbus Day, geniuses! Also, in Japan it is National Health Day, whatever the fuck that is — Mack is going to have a coronary just thinking about it. He already has angina from the spicy-tuna roll he ate last night with the guys from Mitsubishi. His fingernails are bitten down so far that his fingers are bloody stumps. There is only one thing bringing him joy right now.

The silver lining on the cloud is that he knows that someone is looking after him. An army of commenters, like a band of guardian angels, have risen up to wage battle against Websites that have reported on such rumors. Who knew he had so many friends?

Like Ed, who wrote the following on the Journal's Marketbeat blog:

What about the comments from the Fox-Pitt analyst, which said that MS is under pressure for “no fundamental reason” and has “sound” liquidity and balance sheet? What about the Moody’s comments that MS has a good liquidity profile, has been outperforming peers who have posted big losses, and has significantly de-risked its balance sheet? Is that not worth printing because it doesn’t make for a good story? Your fear-mongering is helping to drive companies out of business and people out of their jobs.

Good man, Ed. And the gent called BogusRumors, who defended him on DealBook:

"Clearly the rumors about this deal imploding is calculated fear mongering as both Morgan and Mitsubishi have verified it will not. The only delay in this merger is the simple fact that federal law prohibits it from happening until Monday. In the time between then and now the rumor mongers are doing everything they can to make it not happen."

And Gangstar, on Portfolio:

Unbelievable they let you post it on the website! Please, do us all a favor! Stop writing and educate yourself! The market is flooded with rumors and guys like you are making it worse... Morgan Stanley is in a good financial position, their balance sheet is in a good shape and has no liquidity issues... So, step back and let professionals do their job!.

Mack clicks refresh. Perhaps, he thinks, when it all ends, he will reach out to Gangstar, take him for a beer.

Source: Daily Intel | 10 Oct 2008 | 8:00 pm

Longtime 'All My Children' actress dies

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 10 Oct 2008 | 7:54 pm

Taylor Momsen’s Angsty ‘Crash’ Fashion Spread

Photo: fabsugar.com

Little Jenny Humphrey is growing up, bitches! Or rather, Taylor Momsen is. Remember when the 15-year-old Gossip Girl star signed with IMG a few months back? Well, homegirl is not only working but working it. Here you see a sampling of her new spread in the October issue of Crash magazine (see the rest here). With darkened, full eyebrows and red or flesh-colored lips, she chews on straws and wraps chains around her neck. Rufus wouldn't approve, but we can feel her angst. Can you?

Sneak Peek! Taylor Momsen Models For Crash Magazine [FabSugar]

Source: The Cut | 10 Oct 2008 | 7:49 pm

The Russell Crowe Gimmick: A History

Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

This needs to stop. In Body of Lies, Russell Crowe once again pulls out his oldest gimmick: The Contrarian Detail. Again and again, Crowe plays tough guys — and tries to humanize them with some too poetic, too cute detail, to ridiculous, distracting effect. His Black Bart cowboy had a taste for painting in 3:10 to Yuma (remember him sketching the sagebrush in between gunfights?). His fearless sea captain had a fine hand with the violin in Master and Commander (how’d he keep that thing in tune?). And now, like his sensitive divorced dad–tough cop in American Gangster, his absurdly evil, Rumsfeldian CIA mastermind in Body of Lies is a magnet for soccer-dad clichés, ferrying his kids back and forth to school while plotting assassinations on his cell phone.

After breaking through with coherent, focused performances in Romper Stomper, Love in Limbo, and L.A. Confidential, Crowe hit on his formula in Gladiator. “The big mistake is their monolithism,” said Crowe, badmouthing other heroes. “The approach to my character is different, more subtle … [He] has a wife and a son, vineyard and olive groves … It can’t be more different to the action heroes you’re talking about. They’re crude characters with a gun in their hands!” After romanticizing that Roman killing machine as a loving dad and husband, Crowe won an Oscar.

Since then, Crowe hasn’t just rounded out his characters, he’s slathered them with odd accents, uncharacteristic hobbies, and odd tics. He always needs more to play (and, yes, it’s fair to lay the blame on him, since he has more control than most actors in the business. As Sam Raimi once said, "The problem with working with Russell is that he always has a good idea"). Unfortunately, Crowe hasn’t made his characters more interesting by giving them surprising characteristics, he’s just made them ridiculous. (Weirdly, his best recent films have been with Ron Howard, who’s pathologically averse to complexity.) Below, a few examples:

The Rough Sailor As Soulful Violinist: In Master and Commander, his Captain Jack Aubrey is not only a fearsome sailor, he has a beautiful artistic soul. He discusses literature with his best friend (Paul Bettany) and plays violin in his spare time. “Those same callused, thickened hands then pick up this delicate, feminine instrument, the violin,” crowed Crowe. “He will play from his heart the things he can never say.”

The Evil Gunslinger As Soulful Sketch Artist: In 3:10 to Yuma, not only can bad man Ben Wade bed prostitutes and shoot the wings off a horsefly from a hundred yards, he can draw! The rough-rider artiste likes long walks and sketching the horizon, or naked female form, romantically framing one drawing on a scraggly piece of scrub brush for Christian Bale to discover.

Mean Streets Plus Kramer vs. Kramer: Since real-life hard-ass detective Ritchie Roberts apparently wasn’t interesting enough, Crowe gives him a complicated home life and a child-custody case to fight in American Gangster.

The Wall Street Asshole As Great Guy: In a way, the preposterous film A Good Year is entirely a collection of contrarian tics. We’re told that Max is a Wall Street asshole prick good-for-nothing, but everything he does proves that he’s a wonderful, tender, wounded soul who had a magical childhood. Everything is overkill; nothing makes any psychological sense.

Rumsfeld As Soccer Dad: None of Crowe’s yin-yang characters are more egregiously rounded than the insane soccer-mom Pentagon sonofabitch he plays in Body of Lies. Over and over again, Crowe is seen driving kids to school, or watching their soccer games, at the exact moments that Leonardo DiCaprio happens to call his cell phone with a new update on a high-profile Middle Eastern catastrophe. This allows Crowe to yell threats and issue life-or-death commands in a weird country-boy accent — while lovingly dropping off his daughter at school in the SUV. Isn’t that just crazy? Yeah, it is.

What’s Next? His next part isn’t just one dream role of contrarian more-is-more gimmickry. It’s two: Russell Crowe will play both Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham in his next film with the ever-indulgent Ridley Scott. Crowe’s revisionist Robin Hood sounds like it will reveal Hood as a hood and the Sheriff as a caring father and lute player.

Source: Vulture | 10 Oct 2008 | 7:45 pm

Puppet during the filiming of Lebanese TV show "Dumacratiyah"

A puppet representing anti-Syrian Lebanese Christian leader Samir Geagea is seen during the filming of a satirical TV puppet show titled "Dumacratiyah" at a television studio in the Mediterranean town...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 10 Oct 2008 | 7:34 pm

Puppets during the filiming of Lebanese TV show "Dumacratiyah"

Puppet clones of Lebanon's rival Christian leaders Samir Geagea (R) and Suleiman Franjieh are seen during the filming of a satirical TV puppet show titled "Dumacratiyah" at a television studio in the Mediterranean...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 10 Oct 2008 | 7:34 pm

Sports Radio and Sports Blogs Now About Everything But … Sports

Al Michaels and William Shatner.
Photo: Getty Images

It was a banner week for radio sports talk nationwide. Despite this being one of the busier periods on the sports calendar, what with the baseball playoffs and the NFL in full swing, you can't just talk about games for five hours a day. No, see, you need to bring the comedy. On one end of the spectrum, you have Dan Patrick playing Al Michaels a clip of William Shatner recreating his famous “Do you believe in miracles?” call. Weird, but fun, and if nothing else, definitely original. And on the other end, there’s Minneapolis (non-sports-talk) hosts Chris Baker and Langdon Perry, who joked that they think Magic Johnson was “faking AIDS.” Ummm, ha?

David Wells Just Wants to Fight Someone. On Bronx Banter, writer Bob Klapisch shares his lasting Yankee Stadium memory: scooping a story about David Wells nearly coming to blows with owner George Steinbrenner, then threatening Klapisch to reveal his sources. Just ponder all the elements of that story for a moment, and you’ll realize that the sad thing isn’t that Yankee Stadium is closing; it’s that crazy things like that never happen anymore. We now officially miss the Yankee teams of the late nineties (and the even wilder ones of the late seventies) more than ever.

Pete Abraham Is Officially a Blogger Now. Efficient and enjoyable Yankees beat reporter Pete Abraham once wrote this about our magazine in his addictive blog: “New York is a good read if you [want to] find a new sushi restaurant or you're dying for the gossip about Fashion Week. But sports?" Well, off-season he's now parlaying wisdom on movies (“It’s worth going to see in a theater if only because the battle scenes translate better to a big screen”) and music. ("Something Is Not Right With Me" by Cold War Kids. Heard this on Entourage and liked it.”) Welcome, Pete! We will do everything we can to resist the line “Peter Abraham is a good read if you want to know what the Yankees lineup is that night or you’re dying for press releases about Michael Kay. But movies?”

Source: Daily Intel | 10 Oct 2008 | 7:30 pm

Meet the New Girl: Imogen Morris Clarke

Photo: Courtesy of Chadwick Tyler

London native Imogen Morris Clarke has that je ne sais quoi quality that's got casting directors in a tizzy. Before she hit a single runway, the 16-year-old had been featured on the cover of Japanese Dazed & Confused. And when she made her catwalk debut, she walked for only the best: Rodarte in New York, Prada in Milan, and Alexander McQueen in Paris. Her quirky doll-like beauty harkens Twiggy's era, which we love. Apparently Mario Testino does too, having just lensed the Brit for D&G’s ad campaign. With Japanese Dazed & Confused requesting her again, it looks like this teen's career is about to get busier.

Model Profile: Imogen Morris Clarke

Find your new favorite runway star in our ever-expanding Model Manual.

Source: The Cut | 10 Oct 2008 | 7:15 pm

MGM still roars in Hollywood

Front Page: Studio's revival boosted by cash cache -- The Lion should be tearing its hair out. With the economy in shambles and Hollywood getting hit hard by the credit crunch, MGM is hardly in a prime spot to be tryingonce again to reboot itself.

Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 10 Oct 2008 | 7:14 pm

Movies adapt to Broadway playbook

Front Page: 'Doubt,' 'Frost/Nixon' take bigscreen test -- "Frost/Nixon" and "Doubt" are destined to be serious awards season contenders when they open in December, but even as film adaptations of highly popular plays, they are on a road fraught with mixed results and more than a few risks.

Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 10 Oct 2008 | 7:04 pm

Lars Ulrich Unloads a Basquiat

Photo: Getty Images

We hope you're proud of yourselves, music pirates. Hard times have apparently befallen everyone's favorite technology-averse hard-rock combo, and Metallica's Lars Ulrich is selling a Basquiat he purchased back in 1999, long before he'd even heard of P2P or personal computers. Untitled (Boxer), painted by the artist in 1982, is expected to fetch between $12 million and $16 million at Christie's, which you could probably easily afford with the money you've saved by downloading Metallica albums.

Metallica Drummer to Sell Basquiat ‘Boxer’ [NYT]

Source: Vulture | 10 Oct 2008 | 7:00 pm

Review: 'Body of Lies' flat

Three years after his Crusades epic "Kingdom of Heaven," director Ridley Scott returns to the shifting sands of the Middle East with "Body of Lies." Unfortunately, despite the star power of Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, the movie lags.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 10 Oct 2008 | 6:47 pm

Brinkley Fired Up over Ex's '20/20' Interview

Christie Brinkley wants kids shielded from Peter Cook's interview tonight.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 10 Oct 2008 | 6:45 pm

Is Brit Being Singled Out in License Case?

Spears' attorney would rather go to trial than take bum deal from prosecutor.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 10 Oct 2008 | 6:43 pm

Video: Sean Avery Talks About Playing With Dolls As a Child

ESPN's amazing video profile of ex–Vogue intern Sean Avery explores his double life as a fashionisto and professional hockey player. It begins with a fantastic montage of Avery playing hockey and sitting front row at the Marc Jacobs spring 2009 show. We don't know anything about hockey, but apparently Sean Avery "revels in being the most despised man in his sport." His fashion interest began as a child when he would steal dolls from his babysitters. ESPN goes shopping with Avery, who wears a shirt from one of his favorite stores Blue & Cream. "I certainly admire a nice purse — no question," he says, fondling a bag. He also discusses his Vogue days, dragging his teammates to Neiman Marcus, and brags about already having met a few gays in Dallas, where he recently moved to play hockey. The video's eight minutes long, but we recommend you watch every second of it.

Source: The Cut | 10 Oct 2008 | 6:35 pm

Mike Leigh on ‘Happy-Go-Lucky,’ His Casting Process, and How Much He Hated ‘The Red Balloon’

Photo: Getty Images

If New York cinema belongs to Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen, no other British filmmaker of the past 30 years has chronicled London quite like Mike Leigh (of Topsy-Turvy and Vera Drake fame), whose renowned, hands-on style entails months of improvisatory sessions to shape the narratives of his films. His irresistible latest work, Happy-Go-Lucky — which hits theaters tonight — is centered around Poppy (Sally Hawkins), a lovable singleton marked by an unsinkable optimism who offers up an endless stream of cheery rejoinders in response to life’s woes, much to the bemusement of those around her. Leigh spoke with Vulture about growing up in Manchester, the glory of Sally Hawkins, and why there’s big money to be made hawking drama in Japan.

Did the siren call of film come early for you?
I grew up in Manchester, and I was going to the pictures, as we called them, throughout the forties, and the 1950s, which were my teenage years, all that time. I couldn't get enough of it, you know? There were fourteen theaters within walking distance of my house, without going into central Manchester, where the big cinemas were. Local fleapits, we called them. And every movie house would show two films on the program, the A-picture and the B-picture. But of course I never saw a film — until I was 17, and left for London — that wasn't in English. It was all American Hollywood and British movies. I think the only film I saw that wasn't in English was that puke-making French short Le Ballon Rouge. Awful! But I went to London to study acting and it was a mind-blowing experience because I discovered world cinema. There it all was.

You’ve worked with Sally Hawkins twice before. Did you have her in mind to play Poppy all along?
The plan was to put her at the center of this. Having worked with her before and seen her work, it seemed to me absolutely obvious that we should construct a film that put her at the center of things and exploit all her positive attributes.

You worked with everyone from old collaborators to acting neophytes on this film. What’s your casting process like?
On the whole, I cast the actors, not the parts, and then create the parts with the actor. There are exceptions to that. When we did Vera Drake, we knew that somebody had to be a judge and somebody had to be a doctor and a number of women were going to have to play characters who had abortions. But that doesn't cast the character, that merely casts the function of the character. You just create the character with the actor. Indeed, when we did Topsy-Turvy, I started with the premise of Jim Broadbent playing W.S. Gilbert, and we then had to find an actor who could play Arthur Sullivan, who had to look like him, be a good actor, but also be a consummate musician. And in the end we got the only right answer — Allan Corduner fulfills all of those [roles]. With Happy-Go-Lucky, I got Poppy on the go and was then sauced to work with Eddie Marsan. The whole thing is a long investigation — that's the glory, the discovery.

A lot of young filmmakers today seem driven by a more visceral style — out to make an impression more visually than humanistically, which stands in stark contrast to a lot of your work. How does that mode of filmmaking strike you?
It's an inevitable result of people growing up in a world which is no longer literary, and which is visceral — the fact that kids have grown up with video games or whatever. Culture doesn't stand still, and everything has happened organically for a reason. I don't think — I know, in fact, that it's simply not the case that no young filmmakers are interested in making films about real things or people. That's there too. But the existence of the type of cinema you talk about is absolutely legitimate. So I embrace it, even it doesn't necessarily mean I like it. But there are all kinds of movies about people in relationships that I can't stand. It all depends on how it's made.

Have you noticed any differences in the way that your films play internationally?
Obviously there are going to be nuances that don't come across, even here. But these are details. We were apprehensive as to how Secrets & Lies would play in Japan, because it's a white woman who has a black child. That's not a comfortable thing in a Japanese context. So I went to Japan and talked to a journalist who said, “They're going to love it, this is a very Japanese story because it's about secrets and lies, and that’s what Japanese families are all about!” And it did big-time business in Japan. So they travel, and I think it's because while the specific milieu is England, what I deal with — without being pompous or pretentious or presumptuous about it — are universal subjects.

Source: Vulture | 10 Oct 2008 | 6:30 pm

Guy From ‘Twilight’ Selects Perfectly Reasonable Fallback Career

Photo: Getty Images

"Music is my backup plan if acting fails. I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket." —Twilight star Robert Pattinson [Hero Complex/LAT]

"I hope whatever differences we'd accrued over the years, we'd be able to show up as professionals and accept it with dignity." —Slash reflects on what would happen if Guns 'N Roses were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [AP via Yahoo]

"I'm more involved with, you know, trying to get the dessert we order at lunch than I am with the new Ghostbusters sequel." —Bill Murray [ComingSoon]

"No, I haven't, but I'm going to get in touch with him. I guess he's still kicking around, isn't he? He wrote 'Jesus,' didn't he?" —Glen Campbell on whether he contacted Lou Reed about covering the Velvet Underground's "Jesus" on his new record [Telegraph UK]

"I always thought that DJs were a bunch of egotistical spoiled bastards playing other people's music. And when I became one I fitted in perfectly." —New Order's Peter Hook on his new gig [Spinner]

Source: Vulture | 10 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm

Shoppers Display Ravenous Appetite for Anya Hindmarch’s Target Collection

Anya Hindmarch for Target
Photo: Courtesy of Anya Hindmarch

Anya Hindmarch's handbag collection for Target went up for sale on her Website this Wednesday before it hits Target stores. And it sold out in less than two minutes! Anya's bags normally cost between $300 and $1,600, but her Target line goes for around $50. If you missed the presale, you'll be able to buy the bags in Target stores or online at target.com from October 12 through December 26. Godspeed. [British Vogue]

Source: The Cut | 10 Oct 2008 | 5:54 pm

Viacom, CBS lower earnings outlook

Front Page: Advertising spending expected to decline -- Bowing to the continued market turmoil, Viacom and CBS Corp. lowered their third quarter earnings guidance on Friday, citing the expected downturn in advertising spending in the coming months, among other factors.

Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 10 Oct 2008 | 5:40 pm

Should Iranian diplomats wear creased pants? (AP)

AP - "The Ayatollah Begs to Differ — The Paradox of Modern Iran" (Doubleday. 273 pages. $24.95), by Hooman Majd: Should Iranian diplomats pursue their duties in neatly creased trousers, as their Western counterparts tend to do?

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 10 Oct 2008 | 5:24 pm

The surprise film hit of the fall

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 10 Oct 2008 | 5:21 pm

‘Twilight’ Trailer: OME!

Tagline: "What if I'm not the hero? What if I'm … the bad guy?"

Translation: The sexy, sexy bad guy.

The Verdict: Looks like Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke will be able to leave the house without getting clobbered by Stephenie Meyer fans — the movie's final trailer has leaked, and the message-board community is expressing cautious optimism: "OMGGGGGGGG!! I can't believe how frickin brilliant and awesome that was!!!!!" says one. "OME [for Oh My Edward, the lead vampire] OME OME OME OME OME!!! That kiss is taking home a Moon Man FOR SURE!!!! I can hardly breathe. WHOA!" says another. No asthma attacks have been reported so far at Vulture HQ — we think the trailer looks a little cheesy. But we can still see how the make-out scene, along with all the gloomy romance stuff, might make literate 13-year-old girls salivate. Actually, the vampire fight scenes toward the end aren't half bad either. So, uh, yeah, sure — OME!

Source: Vulture | 10 Oct 2008 | 5:15 pm

We Have Spencer Pratt’s Phone Number

You know you want to call this face.
Photo: Getty Images

This morning Facebook delivered a little Friday surprise when a friend (of a friend of a friend) posted Spencer Pratt's digits. Are they legit? We haven't called. But the Daily News' Cristina Kinon did (and printed the number) and was too flustered to leave a message when she got Pratt's voice mail. So instead of screaming at your TV when Spencer acts like the world's greatest jackass, you can tell him yourself and blow off a little steam. Like kickboxing.

Want To Tell Spencer What You Really Think Of Him? [NYDN]

Source: The Cut | 10 Oct 2008 | 5:12 pm

Sheryl Crow Starts Clothing Line

Sheryl Crow has started her own casual clothing line, Bootheel Trading Co.
Source: FOXNews.com | 10 Oct 2008 | 5:03 pm

Oscar Futures: Is ‘W.’ a Lame Duck?

Photo: Courtesy of AMPAS

Every week between now and February 2, when the nominations are announced, movies and stars will help themselves — or, sometimes, hurt themselves — in the Oscar race. Vulture's Oscar Futures will listen to insider gossip, comb the Oscar blogs, and out-and-out guess when necessary to track who's up, who's down, and who's currently leading the race for a coveted nomination.

Best Picture	UP: Milk. Early whispers indicate it could be as good as its trailer.	DOWN: W. The first reviews confirm the worst — not only is it not the batshit-crazy lightning rod we were hoping for, it's not even a very good movie!
	CURRENT PREDIX: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, Revolutionary Road, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Director	UP: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire. By all accounts, his movie is this year's Little Miss Sunshine. Can it score him his first-ever nomination? We think so!	DOWN: Clint Eastwood, Changeling. The Academy loves the guy, but critics smell a stinker.
	CURRENT PREDIX: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire; David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon; Sam Mendes, Revolutionary Road; Gus Van Sant, Milk
Best Actor	UP: Josh Brolin, W. Critics don't love the movie, but Brolin's "pitch-perfect," they say.	DOWN: Benicio Del Toro, Che. His performance may be great, but it's in a four-hour movie now getting mixed reviews.
	CURRENT PREDIX: Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road; Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon; Sean Penn, Milk; Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Best Actress	UP: Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married. It's a great role and a stellar performance that surprised practically everybody.	DOWN: Angelina Jolie, Changeling. Her tabloid celebrity is widely assumed to have cost her a nomination last year, so nipple-showing magazine covers probably aren't helping her case this year.
	CURRENT PREDIX: Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married; Angelina Jolie, Changeling; Kristen Scott Thomas, I've Loved You So Long; Meryl Streep, Doubt; Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road
Best Supporting Actor	UP: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight. His nomination is a given, but can he win? He's still the front-runner!	DOWN: Russell Crowe, Body of Lies. It's allegedly a great performance, but critics don't love the movie.
	CURRENT PREDIX: Josh Brolin, Milk; Jamie Foxx, The Soloist; Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight; Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Road; Michael Sheen, Frost/Nixon
Best Supporting Actress	UP: Debra Winger, Rachel Getting Married. She's thrice-nominated and returning to the screen after a three-year absence. Ecstatic reviews don't hurt either.	DOWN: Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler. Even her nude scenes can't take the media focus off Mickey Rourke.
	CURRENT PREDIX: Kathy Bates, Revolutionary Road, Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona; Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler; Debra Winger, Rachel Getting Married

Source: Vulture | 10 Oct 2008 | 4:45 pm

Rocker Ted Nugent: What I'd Do as President

Rocker Ted Nugent pulls no punches on what he'd do as president to those on welfare in America: they'd be deported.
Source: FOXNews.com | 10 Oct 2008 | 4:44 pm

Hugh Hefner's crazy, sex-fueled life

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 10 Oct 2008 | 4:21 pm

Stocks continue free-fall on Friday

Front Page: Dow experiences eighth straight day of losses -- Wall Street extended its devastating decline Friday as investors, still seeing no resolution to the credit crisis, sold frantically and propelled the Dow Jones industrials to their eighth straight day of losses and worst week ever.

Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 10 Oct 2008 | 3:53 pm

General Electric 3Q earnings drop

Front Page: NBC Universal profit increases 10% -- General Electric posted a third-quarter profit dip Friday that matched Wall Street expectations, with NBC Universal one of the conglom's lone bright spots.

Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 10 Oct 2008 | 3:33 pm

'CSI' strong; 'Mars' top bow

Front Page: Procedural's premiere helps lift CBS to win -- CBS prevailed on the first true Thursday of the season behind "Survivor" and a strong premiere for "CSI," though the net's new "Eleventh Hour" didn't do much closing out the night. ABC, meanwhile, saw a solid bow for "Life on Mars," and NBC made some noise with its "Saturday Night Live" special and the premiere of "Kath & Kim."        

Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 10 Oct 2008 | 3:11 pm

Leak Suspected in Nobel Prize Betting Scandal

An unusually large amount of bettors correctly predicted the win of Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio for the 2008 Nobel Prize in literature. The permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy says there might have been a leak.
Source: FOXNews.com | 10 Oct 2008 | 3:10 pm

Britney Spears on Erratic Era: What Was I Thinking?

Even Britney Spears wonders what happened to her in the last couple of years, as she breaks her silence on a dark period that found her in rehab, shaving her head and gunning for the paparazzi with a golf umbrella.
Source: FOXNews.com | 10 Oct 2008 | 2:49 pm

'Motorcycle' man taking on Kerouac

When Brazilian director Walter Salles films a movie, the journey is often more interesting than the final destination.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 10 Oct 2008 | 2:00 pm

FOX 411: Christie Brinkley's Ex Addicted to the Press

Christie Brinkley's ex Peter Cook and Barbara Walters to blame for furthering Cook's addiction to the media in new '20/20' interview.
Source: FOXNews.com | 10 Oct 2008 | 1:56 pm

Lohan Doesn't Want to Be on Cam in Court

Lohan asked judge to bar cameras, public transcripts from upcoming deposition.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 10 Oct 2008 | 1:42 pm

Lohan wants camera off for deposition

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 10 Oct 2008 | 1:42 pm

How low can cable guys go?

Front Page: Political hysteria hits new heights -- Move over, Howard Beale: I'm as mad as hell and not sure I can take it until November.

Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 10 Oct 2008 | 1:41 pm

Pop Tarts: Audrina the Target of H.S. Bullies

If you thought 'The Hills' was filled with too much bitching and backstabbing, it's nothing compared to what starlet Audrina Patridge experienced growing up in the Orange County town of Placentia, Calif.
Source: FOXNews.com | 10 Oct 2008 | 1:22 pm

Cyndi Lauper and her hero fight for gay rights

Throughout her career, singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper has promoted gay and lesbian rights. She has a personal connection to this cause -- her sister is a lesbian -- but she also believes it's a matter of fairness.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 10 Oct 2008 | 1:15 pm

Jolie shown breastfeeding on magazine cover

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 10 Oct 2008 | 12:51 pm