SATURDAY, JULY 31, 2010
KLMNO Catching up to its own gossip Three celeb-centric stories on our radar this weekend . . .
Celebritology 1
Jen Chaney and Liz Kelly
POLL OF THE WEEK: ‘DRAGON TATTOO’S’ FEMALE LEAD
Angelina, unauthorized:
“Angelina Jolie: The Unauthorized Biography,” Andrew Morton’s largely anonymously sourced book,
hits stores Saturday, three days earlier than originally planned. Why the rush? Because, according to USA Today, publisher St. Martin’s Press wanted to get the gossipy 336-page tome into the marketplace before any more juicy tidbits leak into the blogosphere. In other words, you can read about Jolie’s traumatic early childhood separation from her mother, her shared-shower moment with Leonardo DiCaprio and the fact that her now-faded Billy Bob Thornton tattoo was etched in Helvetica font — all by paying the $26.99 cover price. (Or you can just track down those details on the Web. The choice is yours.)
Andrew Morton’s unauthorized tome on the “Salt” star is being released a tad early to preempt further tidbit leaks.
With Daniel Craig now confirmed to star in the American adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” even more blogosphere attention is focused on who will be cast as Lisbeth Salander, the nose-ringed hacker and title character.We asked readers which of the alleged leading contenders they would most like to see in the role.
S
C3
UNatalie Portman: 36% Ellen Page:29% Léa Seydoux: 13% Mia Wasikowska: 6%
writer-director Lee Daniels (“Precious”) is moving on with a D.C.-centric project. Daniels plans to make “The Butler,” a drama based on the life of Eugene Allen, a Virginia native who worked as a butler in the White House for several decades, performing his duties mere feet from where multiple presidents were making key civil rights decisions.
Deadline.com reports that Daniels has
2 Eugene Allen
approached Denzel Washington about playing Allen, who died this year at 90. The screenplay, to be reworked by Daniels, is based on a series of stories by The Post’s own Wil Haygood.
f SAID IT: YOU
Butler to become “The Butler”: After struggling to find funding for his civil rights epic, “Selma,” Academy Award-winning
Spencer Pratt have secretly resumed their relationship. The plastic-surgery-altered Montag, 23, filed for divorce Friday from her husband of less than two years, citing irreconcilable differences in a petition filed in Santa Monica, Calif., Superior Court. Montag and Pratt met the way many young couples do: via their involvement in the now-defunct MTV reality series “The Hills.” Pratt, 26, commented on the split on the People magazine Web site — the outlet that broke this “shocking” news — with his trademark humility. “Some say if you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen,” he said. “Well, Heidi couldn’t handle King Spencer’s fame, so she got out of the marriage.”
3
Montag and Pratt, almost legally over: Forget those rumors that Heidi Montag and
Other floated possibilities — Emily Browning (“Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events”), Rooney Mara (“Nightmare on Elm Street”) and Australian actresses Sarah Snook and Sophie Lowe — all earned 5 percent or less of the vote.
and pop-culture news. Send tips to
celebritology@wpost.com.
6
POP CULTURE PULSE: WOOKIEELEAKS
A SELECTION OF NOTABLE READER COMMENTS FROM THE PAST WEEK...
Headline: “Rihanna to make acting debut in big-screen adaptation of Hasbro game Battleship.” Comment: “Spoiler alert: She gets killed by a giant red peg.” — byoolin1
Headline: “Chris Tucker reportedly owes IRS more than $11 million in back taxes.” Comment: “How is it possible that someone who I’ve never heard of has amassed enough money to owe eleven million dollars worth of taxes?” — 7900rmc
In the space where international news and “Star Wars” geekery meet, there is Wookieeleaks, an Internet meme inspired by the recent WikiLeaks release of classified documents related to the war in Afghanistan. For the past several days, the Twitter hash tag #wookieeleaks has been associated with the dispersal of such top-secret, nerd-larious information as “Disturbing new intelligence indicates that Han may have shot first,” and “Rebel leaders ignore report titled ‘It’s A Trap: The Death Star Is Quite Operational.’ ” No report of a book deal yet, but we won’t be shocked if it happens.
Gibson’s showbiz lawyers stick with him
Actor’s leaked phone rant cost him his agents but not his counsel
Hollywood Reporter
los angeles — It’s been some three weeks since Mel Gibson’s leaked telephone rant cost him his agents at William Morris En- deavor. But for now, his showbiz lawyers are standing by their man. Tom Hansen, Gibson’s longtime
Hollywood attorney and the founding partner of Hansen Ja- cobson, one of the town’s most prestigious talent boutiques, has stuck with Gibson so far in the wake of the enfolding scandal. Some might be surprised by
that, given how toxic the embat- tled actor-filmmaker is these days. Hansen’s firm isn’t exactly hurting for clients — they repre- sent the top tier of actors, film- makers and TV producers. But the fact that Hansen is steadfastly, albeit quietly (he de- clined to comment) sticking with
Gibson says something interest- ing about different roles played by lawyers and agents in Hollywood, as well as the value judgments in- herent in representing difficult and potentially explosive talents. Unlike agents and managers,
who often pound the pavement to find clients the right jobs, lawyers often become involved only if a potential deal is on the table. No deals, no lawyer needed, so a cli- ent who doesn’t work is typically a client without a lawyer.
Given the maelstrom surround- ing Gibson, he likely won’t need his deal lawyers for a while (crimi- nal and family lawyers, on the other hand, are certainly working overtime). That will allow Hansen to stay loyal to a longtime client without actually doing much for the controversial figure — unless the client stages a comeback. Additionally, lawyers can-
vassed for this article think that lawyers are different from agents and shouldn’t make personal val- ue judgments about which clients to represent. Everyone needs a lawyer, they say, even in challeng- ing times (or especially in chal- lenging times). If attorneys start-
ed dropping clients based on bad behavior, the slope would very quickly become slippery. That’s a convincing argument.
After all, Hansen stuck with client Robert Downey Jr., who famously had his personal problems and went to jail on drug-related charg- es before returning to work and becoming one of Hansen’s most high-flying earners.
Sure, drug problems are differ- ent from what — if the leaked tapes are to be trusted — are rac- ist and misogynistic rants. But Jake Bloom and his law firm still close deals for Charlie Sheen, whose off-camera troubles have done little to slow his career. Lindsay Lohan, on the other hand, was dropped by Jason Sloane, another A-list talent law- yer, as her life spun out of control (though Creative Artists Agency confirms that it still represents her). Hansen and Gibson go back
many years. Gibson’s agent, the late Ed Limato, was close friends with Hansen, who orchestrated Limato’s move from International Creative Management to then-En- deavor a few years back. Both
‘Jersey Shore’ star Snooki arrested Reuters
new york — President Obama might not have heard of Snooki, but New Jersey police certainly have: They arrested the “Jersey Shore” reality TV star Friday on a charge of disorderly conduct. Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, 22, was arrested in Seaside Heights while filming the TV series. She was re- leased with a summons to appear in court, police said. "Nicole Polizzi was acting in a disorderly manner while located on the beach,” Seaside Heights Police Chief Thomas Boyd said in a statement. “Ms. Polizzi was es- corted from the beach by [offi-
cers], then placed under arrest for the charge of dis- orderly con- duct."
Celebrity
Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi will have a date in court.
news Web site TMZ showed photos of Snooki in handcuffs. It also showed photos of the petite star
drinking Coca-Cola out of a beer bong earlier Friday. Snooki is filming the third sea- son of “Jersey Shore” with seven other cast members, including
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, who live together in a house. The second season of MTV’s
“Jersey Shore,” filmed in Miami, premiered Thursday to a series- record 5.3million viewers, more than three times the number who tuned in for the series premiere. "Jersey Shore” gave MTV its best season premiere of a show since the second-season launch of “The Osbournes” in 2002. This week, New Jersey Gov.
Chris Christie (R) said the cast and show gave a “negative” im- pression of the state.
Obama appeared on “The
View” on Thursday and said he had not heard of Snooki when asked about her.
made a lot of money representing Gibson in good times. So it makes sense that they repaid that loyalty by sticking with Gibson during the last round of anti-Semitic comments. Now that Limato is gone, Han- sen continues to stay loyal.
Visit
washingtonpost.com/ celebritology for more celeb
CHRIS JACKSON/GETTY IMAGES
A SHINY JEWEL: Dan Fesperman’s novel goes beyond the glossy travel-magazine image of Dubai.
A thrilling hunt through Dubai’s seamier side
books from C1
the next morning, roughed up and taken to the police station to be booked. There, Lt. Anwar Sharaf takes him into his per- sonal custody. Keller accepts temporary de- tention in the Sharaf house- hold, a traditional Arab home in which the aging patriarch must cope with the constant de- mands of his loving but strong- willed wife, his three overly de- pendent adult sons and his at- tractive, 24-year-old daughter, Laleh, who brazenly — for the Arab world — runs her own marketing firm in downtown Dubai. With the looks, smarts and ambition to cause Sharaf and his wife ceaseless worry over her Western ways, Laleh is as intrigued by Keller as he is by her, and now the frustrated par- ents must try to quell a scandal- ous romance in their midst. The Sharafs at home are a subject of great curiosity for Keller, and their cross-cultural misunder- standings make for a delightful touch in this exciting thriller. Once Keller makes his way out of the house, though, he finds his situation increasingly
dire. Options for fleeing the country are blocked at every turn. Terrified and now on the run, with no knowledge of the city or the language, he proves an unexpectedly resourceful fu- gitive. His hacking into his em- ployer’s computer system is a brilliant demonstration of cor- porate espionage. Fesperman leads us on a live- ly chase as Keller plunges into a city of wildly differing, often clashing subcultures: tradition- al Arab society with its rigid so- cial boundaries for women, the criminal underworld with its uneasy alliance between local gangs and the newly arrived Russian mafia, a police force steeped in politics and corrup- tion, and even a rundown dor- mitory packed with overworked and underpaid foreign con- struction workers. With its fas- cinating insights about this Middle Eastern Miracle, “Lay- over in Dubai” whisks us from our workaday world into one far, far away.
bookworld@washpost.com
Earnest is the founding executive director of the International Spy Museum.
Sam Keller plunges into a city of wildly differing subcultures.
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